WRC rejects disability discrimination complaints against Brown Thomas

Elizabeth Torneria-Fuentes’s disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation complaints against Brown Thomas Arnotts Limited were found not well founded by the Workplace Relations Commission. The decision was dated 22 March 2023. Torneria-Fuentes said she and her daughter were asked to wear face coverings when they went to the Brown Thomas store in Limerick to collect an online order in October 2021. She argued that her disabilities prevented her from wearing a mask and that the store failed to accommodate her. The adjudicator accepted that she had disabilities, but found the store had not been made aware of their nature at the time. The WRC found no evidence of less favourable treatment or a failure to provide reasonable accommodation.