A children’s entertainment company in Canberra that allegedly sacked a contractor after she expressed opposition to same-sex marriage on social media may have breached discrimination law, experts have warned.
Experts including Sydney University associate professor Belinda Smith and Per Capita research fellow Tim Lyons said the law protects the political and religious views of employees and contractors, regardless of whether they support or oppose marriage equality.
Media reports said that Capital Kids Parties stopped employing an 18-year-old contractor, identified so far only as Madeline, after she had worked just two shifts.
Company owner Madlin Sims posted on social media that she had “fired a staff member who made it public knowledge that they feel ‘it’s OK to vote no.’”
“Advertising your desire to vote no for [same-sex marriage] is, in my eyes, hate speech,” she said.
Sims said it was not a case of “you’re voting no, you’re fired,” because “there were prior conversations had.”
“As a business that works with children of all kinds, we have a responsibility to working with vulnerable people and having someone who is out [and] proud about their beliefs (of which are statistically proven to have horrible effects on young members of the gay community) is a risk for the wellbeing of the children we work with,” she said.
In interviews with Sky News and Triple J, Madeline said she had been sacked because her Christian belief did not permit her to vote yes.
Under the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Discrimination Act, both religious and political convictions are protected attributes. Employees and contractors cannot be discriminated against on those bases. Religious organizations have an exemption allowing them to discriminate.
ACT Discrimination Commissioner Karen Toohey confirmed it may be unlawful to sack an employee or contractor for religious and political views, sex, gender identity or sexuality.
“You can bring a complaint on that basis; it’s a decision for the ACT civil and administrative tribunal” to determine, she said.
“If religious convictions are a protected attribute — as they are in [the] ACT — then generally it is not permissible to fire someone for those convictions — this could constitute direct discrimination,” Smith said.
However, employers “can generally prescribe what workers can and can’t say and do on the job to clients,” she said.
Lyons, a workplace law expert from his time as the Australian Council of Trade Unions assistant secretary, said it was “important to note that discrimination law works both ways.”
Both supporters of the yes and no cases were protected by laws that make it unlawful to discriminate based on a person’s religious or political conviction, he said.
“As long as the expression of your views isn’t threatening people in the workplace ... and is not hate speech, then clearly you’ve got a right to your views,” he said.
“The irony is that people on the right loudly protesting the so-called politically correct thought police will have their rights protected by those laws as well,” he said.
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