Four years after she was temporarily suspended from her job as a Salvation Army store manager, Kathleen Hinder of New South Wales is claiming the suspension was discriminatory because she admitted to being a compulsive gambler.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, in 2011 Hinder received a two-week suspension because of customer complaints and other issues, including maintaining an untidy store and smoking too close to the front door. Hinder claims she was a victim of disability discrimination because of her gambling history. A judge in NSW says the law must now determine if gambling addiction qualifies as a disability.
The Herald reports that Hinder worked for eight years at the store before she was suspended—with pay. She refused to take the suspension and quit instead. Reportedly she was suspected in store thefts prior to 2011, but those allegations were never proven. According to the Salvation Army, Hinder was suspended by a human resources officer who was unaware that she had disclosed past issues with gambling addiction.
Hinder’s complaint to the state’s anti-discrimination board was dismissed, but the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal later ruled that the complaint may proceed.
“Ms. Hinder may be able to establish that her particular issue with gambling is a disability because it is ‘a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behavior,’” Magistrate Nancy Hennessy wrote. “I understand her to be submitting that a tendency to steal money is a characteristic that is generally imputed to people who have a gambling problem.”
Karen O’Connell of the University of Technology Sydney’s law department, said the ruling should not open the door to similar claims. “The other hurdles [in proving discrimination] are more than enough to protect against someone receiving protection who shouldn’t,” she said. “We don’t want people to be stopped at the first gate and not take their complaint any further.”
