Health authorities say face masks should still be encouraged to stop the spread of COVID-19, after a Victorian job seeker claimed their resume was knocked back because they were wearing one.
Cat Webb, who uses they/them pronouns, dropped a resume at a West Gippsland hospitality business hoping to find some summer work.
While there was no job advertised, Mx Webb started chatting with who they believed was a manager.
"[She] looked at my mask and asked me if I would be willing to take the mask off to work at the cafe. I was a little bit shocked," Mx Webb said.
Mx Webb told the manager they would not consider removing their mask as they wanted to protect themselves and their immunocompromised friends against COVID-19.
Mx Webb said the staff member told them masks represented division and fear and she wanted her staff to rise above that.
"She tried to reassure me around safety … that they do good hand washing, stay at home [if] they're sick and those sorts of things," Mx Webb said.
"I said to her that the mask for me is about being able to care for my friends.
"[After] I said that ... she handed back my resume and said that she wouldn't be able to consider me for the position there."
Mx Webb said it was better to know where an employer stood before starting a job, but the experience had made the prospect of looking for work harder.
"The downside of this interaction is that it has shaken my confidence a bit," they said.
No action available
In Victoria, face masks are only recommended in certain settings, such as if you are a close contact of someone with COVID-19 and leaving the house.
Past president of the Law Institute of Victoria Mark Woods said because there was no position on offer at the cafe, discrimination laws did not come into play.
"What the employer will doubtless say is, 'Oh, look, we didn't have a position available anyway,'" Mr Woods said.
But he said if the job was formally advertised it would be grounds for discrimination.
"The employment laws in this country are pretty clear that if an employer specifically says to you, 'We're not going to employ you because of this particular health measure that you've taken,' that employer can be dealt with by various commissions which are set up to prevent discrimination," he said.
Mask confusion
Rural Doctors Association of Victoria president Dan Wilson said many people had found the messaging around masks confusing.
"Masks still play a very important role in prevention of spreading of this really nasty infection as well as other viruses," Mr Wilson said.
He said hearing what had happened to Mx Webb was "disappointing".
"The use of additional personal protective equipment such as a mask, in my view as a clinician, should never be frowned upon, and actually encouraged and [people should be] able to respect people's diversity of choice," he said.
