Wed 29 Jun 2016 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Dakota Hemmingson has been awarded nearly $13,250 in lost wages and compensation after she was told to resign when she came out as transgender to her employer at Barkers Groom Room. The Employment Relations Authority has ruled in Hemmingson’s favour and awarded her $3248 in lost wages and $11,000 in compensation for the humiliation and hurt she suffered as a result of the dismissal. Hemmingson worked at the salon for six weeks before she left in April 2015 when she was told she would no longer fit with the commercial profile of the business when she transitioned. Her employer Matt Swan told her that if her transition didn’t work out she could return to the salon as a man. Hemmingson says she suffered severe anxiety as a result of the dismissal and told the Employment Relations Authority that it destroyed her sense of value and self-worth.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 29th June 2016 - 2:56pm