The Workplace Relations Commission found that Castlebridge Centra Ltd Flanagans Centra discriminated against Martin Kelly on the disability ground and ordered it to pay him €2,000 compensation. Adjudication officer Louise Boyle’s decision was dated 6 June 2023.
Kelly said he was refused service when he tried to shop without a mask, explaining that he had a medical exemption. He said he tried to show a letter, but the worker would not engage with him. The store said he had not shown an exemption and had behaved aggressively; a witness said he heard only part of the interaction.
Boyle accepted Kelly’s evidence that he tried to alert the store to his exemption. She found that the store had not rebutted the inference of discrimination and had not met its burden of proof. Under the Equal Status Act, a complainant first has to establish facts that support an inference of discrimination; the respondent must then rebut it. The award was compensation for the effects of the prohibited conduct.