The Workplace Relations Commission found that Desmond Furlong was not discriminated against on age or gender grounds when he was left off the shortlist for promotion to assistant principal officer. The decision was dated 15 July 2022.
Furlong argued that the shortlisting involved discrimination and pointed to figures showing that 66% of female candidates were shortlisted, compared with 33% of male candidates. The Department of Transport denied discrimination and said the competition followed the relevant code.
The adjudication officer found that Furlong should have been shortlisted under the competition criteria. But the officer also found that the Department had rebutted the inference of discrimination with evidence from people involved in the decision, and concluded that his exclusion was not discriminatory.
In discrimination cases, a complainant may first need to establish facts that support an inference of discrimination. The respondent can then rebut that inference with evidence. The officer accepted that Furlong had established a prima facie case, but found the Department had discharged the presumption of discrimination. The complaint was not well founded.