WRC rejects disability discrimination complaint over shop’s face-covering policy

The Workplace Relations Commission found John Ryan’s disability discrimination complaint against Gerry Ellis and Sons Limited t/a Fresh Today Extra was not well founded. Ryan said he could not wear a face covering because of panic attacks and that a supervisor told him to wear a mask or leave the shop. The WRC did not accept the medical report as evidence of the extent and duration of Ryan’s illness and found he had not established a prima facie case that he had a disability under the Act. It also found he had not notified the shop that he had a disability within the meaning of the Act. The decision was dated 4 October 2022.