The Workplace Relations Commission found Michael Aherne’s disability discrimination complaint against Horkans Group Central Office not well founded. The decision, dated 31 January 2023, concerned a dispute at a garden centre on 24 April 2021, when staff asked him to wear a face covering or leave.
Aherne said he had a medical exemption letter in his bag but did not want to disclose confidential information. The garden centre said staff sought evidence of exemptions and offered alternatives, including fast tracking his purchase.
The adjudication officer found that customers wearing sunflower badges were treated more favourably than customers asked to provide medical information. But the officer found Aherne’s medical report did not establish a disability requiring the accommodation he sought, and that he had been told to leave after failing to provide evidence of a disability.