FWC rules resignation a dismissal when board fails to act on harassment
When a Board kept a harassing director in place despite substantiated findings, the Fair Work Commission ruled the resulting resignation a dismissal.
In a decision handed down on 20 April 2026, following a hearing on 16 March 2026, Deputy President Dean of the Fair Work Commission found that Madison Snow, a Communications and Projects Manager at WA Mirning People Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, was forced to resign in circumstances constituting dismissal under the Fair Work Act 2009. Snow had resigned following a sexual harassment incident involving a company director.
The case was brought as a general protections application under s.365 of the Act, with the threshold question being whether Snow had been dismissed at all. The respondent argued she had resigned voluntarily. Deputy President Dean disagreed.
The incident took place in May 2025 during a work trip in Mirning Country. A colleague alerted Snow that director Leslie Schultz had been covertly filming her on his phone without her knowledge. Snow said she panicked and had a panic attack before being taken home. She did not report the matter to police at the time.
Two internal investigations followed. The Board initially banned Schultz from attending the Perth office where Snow worked and from attending meetings with her. Further allegations against Schultz emerged during the first investigation, including that he had inappropriately touched Snow on...
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