WRC dismisses Olumide Smith’s complaint against Cisco over alleged race discrimination

The Workplace Relations Commission found two of Olumide Smith’s complaints against Cisco Systems Internetworking (Ireland) Limited were outside the time limit and that it had no jurisdiction to decide them. His complaint about a 2019 incident was dismissed as frivolous or vexatious. The decision was dated 13 July 2022. Smith alleged race discrimination, harassment and victimisation connected to incidents in 2012, 2015 and 2019, including artificial coughing during legal proceedings and a grievance appeal. Cisco denied instructing its legal team to harass him. For the 2019 complaint, the officer found Smith had not sought a service from Cisco in court and had not identified evidence of discrimination under the Equal Status Act. She dismissed the claim as frivolous or vexatious.