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It was "disgraceful" for an employer to retain a director on its board after substantiating s-xual harassment allegations against him, the Fair Work Commission has found.
Accepting this left his victim with no choice but to resign, Deputy President Lyndall Dean said the employer "should have made every possible attempt to remove [the director], and it is disgraceful that he continues to hold a position on the Board given the allegations that were substantiated".
The case involved a communications and project manager, employed by WA Mirning People Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, who resigned in October last year, some five months after alleging she was sexually harassed by the director during a work trip.
She subsequently filed a general protections dismissal claim, arguing she was forced to quit due to the "unsafe working environment created after a sexual harassment incident involving [the director], the distressing mishandling of the investigation, and the Board's decision to allow the director to remain in his position".
The employer raised a jurisdictional objection, arguing she resigned voluntarily...
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