VCAT says treatment was magnified by her situation as a person with a disability entering the workforce

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A Melbourne woman has won a $10,000 discrimination payout after a fellow worker told her he owned a gun, admired the killer rapist from Wolf Creek and owned excavation equipment so “it would be easy for me to bury a body”.

The woman was working on a level crossing removal project last year as part of Marriott Support Services, a job program for adults with disabilities, when she complained about treatment she received from a worker on the site.

The man told her she was not employed on merit, but her sex and disability, and made inappropriate comments about women in sheer blouses and female pedestrians, saying “... it’s a hard job all day long if you get what I mean”.

He also told her: “I own a gun and I admire the killer and rapist from Wolf Creek” and he owned excavation equipment and “it would be easy for me to bury a body in my back yard”, causing the woman to be fearful.

The woman was also concerned the man, who commented he preferred Asian women, was hovering over a 19-year-old Asian co-worker.

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After telling him his comments were inappropriate and offensive, the woman complained to her employer but was told the unwanted attention was to be expected in a male working environment and suggested she was “oversensitive”.

VCAT senior member Bernadette Steele found the employer’s reaction caused the woman “significant” hurt and distress, and ordered it and a staff member pay her $10,000.

“The ongoing hurt, humiliation and distress to the applicant were significant,” she said.

Steele said the discriminatory treatment was magnified by her situation as a person with a disability who was entering the workforce.

While she did not find the treatment exacerbated her existing mental illness, the events caused her anxiety in the months after the event and affected her confidence and enjoyment at work.