An Equality Officer found that Rory Walsh, trading as By Pass Stores Limited, discriminated against Catherine O’Keeffe by dismissing her because of her disability, and ordered him to pay €17,000 compensation. The decision was dated 12 June 2007.
Walsh said O’Keeffe’s attitude and performance were unsatisfactory, citing customer complaints and failures to follow instructions. O’Keeffe said she was dismissed after her hearing aids were sent for repair, and that no performance concerns had been raised beforehand.
The Equality Officer found Walsh knew about O’Keeffe’s hearing impairment and considered it affected her ability to do the job. Alleged earlier warnings were unsupported by records or a specific recollection, and the instruction Walsh said she had ignored could have been given while she was without her hearing aids. Walsh also failed to follow the dismissal procedures in her contract. The €17,000 comprised €7,000 for lost earnings and €10,000 for the effects of discrimination. The Equality Officer did not consider it necessary to examine the separate reasonable-accommodation issue.