A Sydney construction firm will have to compensate a job seeker aged in his 60s after a tribunal found it laughed him off as "too old".
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Gosford man John Galstaun called up a remedial builder in November 2019 about an advertised casual position requiring jack-hammering, wheeling barrows of concrete and dirt and general construction duties.
When asking about more information, he says the builder asked how old he was and burst out laughing when told Mr Galstaun was 61.
"I have had young ones run away from the workload ... You would have a heart attack and I don't want that on my site ... You are too old, cheers mate," the builder said amid bursts of laughter, Mr Galstaun told a NSW tribunal.
Testifying to being stunned, shocked and very offended, Mr Galstaun made a note of the conversation the next day and filed a discrimination complaint against the builder's firm the following week.
He lost confidence in his ability to undertake physical work and did not apply for construction jobs for many months, he said.
The builder, Les McDougall, denied such a conversation took place, saying he only told Mr Galstaun about the tasks involved and asked him to submit a resume via email.
Employing labourers for 40 years without any prior discrimination complaint, Mr McDougall said he recruited based on relevant experience.
He conceded he'd been been "very short" on the unsolicited 7.30pm call, having been awake since 4.30am and still being at work.
After hearing from both men and considering the timing of Mr Galstaun's initial complaint, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Wednesday found Mr Galstaun's version was more probable.
The phrase "you're too old" and a reference to young workers running from the workload amounted to unlawful discrimination on the ground of age, in contravention of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act, the tribunal said.
Mr McDougall's firm, Adept Underpinning, was ordered to pay $2990 to compensate Mr Galstaun for lost work and hurt feelings.
Another $750 in aggravated damages was awarded after a solicitor acting for the construction firm used "derogatory language" in a letter to Mr Galstaun in 2020.
Speaking to AAP, Mr Galstaun thanked Law Access NSW for helping him find barrister Larissa Andelman, who took on his case pro bono.
"I don't have any ill against Mr McDougall but I hope he has learnt something in the process," Mr Galstaun said.
Australian Associated Press
