Sixteen-year-old Georgia Smith had been working at Ned Kelly’s Pizza in Tweed Heads when, after receiving her first dose of Pfizer, she says she was declared a health risk.
“The spike proteins, if I came into direct contact with them, would spread and go into their bodies,” Georgia said of the supposed health hazards.
She claims she was then told she would not be receiving shifts, due to her vaccination status.
“It still is hard to deal with, I lost a good job, I lost the friends I had in there,” Georgia said.
Law firm Maurice Blackburn heard of Georgia’s situation, reaching out to the family.
Now they’re lodging a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission, alleging her former bosses discriminated against her on the basis of disability.
“The employer imputed a disability to her, they’ve said that because you’re vaccinated you’ve got a condition and you’re a risk to us because of the fact you’re shedding particles,” Giri Sivaraman from Maurice Blackburn said.
But Georgia’s employers have denied the allegations in a statement on Facebook, saying she was fired due to the shop struggling financially and not because she received the vaccine.
Online activity suggests Georgia’s former boss has shared anti-vaccination material on social media.
Since going public, Georgia has become victim to trolls.
“I’ve stopped reading all the hateful messages, I don’t want to be reading those, it’s kind of hurtful,” she said.
Mr Sivaraman added that Georgia’s case has far-reaching implications for others experiencing discrimination on the basis of vaccination.
“We think it’s really important to make accountable an employer that thinks it’s ok to sack someone for getting vaccinated,” Mr Sivaraman said.
Georgia’s mum Jody hopes to set an example for others whose employment has been threatened.
“We just don’t want to see anyone else put in that position,” she said.
Source: 9News
