EXCLUSIVE
A prominent disability and LGBTQIA+ advocate claims she was made the “poster child for autism” at SBS, only to be targeted by a cruel “ableist” taunt and a plot to fire her after she complained.
Laura Fazzolari has launched legal action against the taxpayer-funded broadcaster, citing the ongoing “ageist” and “ableist” discrimination she claims to have suffered after joining SBS in March.
The newly appointed “community engagement activations manager” at the TV station insists she was constantly questioned by “disrespectful” colleagues about her age, education and suitability for her role.
The young manager, who received a scholarship to attend this year’s prestigious Women In Media conference in Sydney, claims she was even issued with a series of false concerns about her behaviour after she sought compensation for a workplace injury.
She lodged a complaint with Anti-Discrimination NSW about her treatment and on Monday sought to extend an interim order from the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal preventing SBS from dismissing her before her claims are fully investigated.
Ms. Fazzolari, who was still on probation when she filed the suit, told the court she believed the broadcaster was “trying to get rid of me… because I’ve become a nuisance.”
And she insisted: “As soon as I have the opportunity, SBS will fire my employee.”
She said it was a completely different situation to when she joined the television service to such fanfare just seven months ago.
Disability advocate Laura Fazzolari says she has been subject to a campaign of “ageist” and “ableist” discrimination at the taxpayer-funded SBS since revealing her autism diagnosis.
Ms Fazzolari has accused her SBS colleagues of discriminating against her on the basis of her age, education and experience, and of continually questioning her suitability for her position.
She said her direct manager was proud to hire someone with autism and actively encouraged her to disclose her diagnosis to hundreds of colleagues.
“I was hired as a person with autism and my manager made me into the perfect example of someone with autism at SBS,” she told the court.
She said her boss was delighted after she revealed her autism to coworkers, but began to distance himself after other colleagues started making “abeist” comments about her diagnosis.
“My manager told me, ‘Thank you so much for making so many of my professional dreams come true,'” Fazzolari told the court.
‘But after I became the poster child for autism, I had to deal with the consequences (of my disclosure) without any support.
“I was treated condescendingly and my abilities were constantly questioned.”
Ms Fazzolari, who was vice president of the University of Canberra’s Rotaract Club from 2016 to 2018, said it became “a pattern” of disrespect.
“This was part of the pattern I had with my peers… they just constantly asked me about my age, about my experience and about my education,” she said.
“It was because (they thought) I had no chance of being qualified (for my position) because of my age or my disability.”
She said a workplace argument about her grades got so heated that a colleague began “yelling at me in the workplace,” but her boss “repeatedly ignored my concerns about being treated disrespectfully.”
“She didn’t even want to sit down with me anymore… and my boss kept ignoring me, except for a text message,” he said.
Ms Fazzolari is a leading advocate for people with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ who was awarded a scholarship to attend the prestigious Women in Media conference in Sydney this year.
Although his manager attempted to allay his concerns by suggesting he might have misinterpreted some of his colleagues’ comments, Fazzolari told the court he refused to accept this explanation.
“If something happens again and again, how can it be a misunderstanding?” he asked.
“I constantly had to make other people comfortable with the fact that I was autistic.”
Ms Fazzolari claimed the “disrespectful” treatment escalated after she asked her bosses at SBS to provide her with her own personal key to a “quiet room” at work.
He said that while his request was eventually granted, the space allocated was next to the office of SBS CEO James Taylor.
“Him being able to see you go in (to the quiet room) when you’re in a bad mental state is not helpful,” she said.
Ms Fazzolari said the alleged discrimination came to a head after her manager allegedly mocked her when she injured her wrist in a nasty fall at the workplace on July 18.
“I fell at work and told her about it and she laughed at me… she didn’t check me or seek medical attention,” he said.
Ms Fazzolari says she experienced further stress after being forced to use an office next to SBS chief executive James Taylor’s executive suite as her “quiet room” for work.
Ms Fazzolari claimed her bosses at SBS continued to harass her into working “against medical advice” after the fall before finally sending her a letter six weeks later on 30 August outlining a number of concerns about her conduct.
She denied being guilty of any deliberate professional misconduct during her time at the outlet, but admitted she may have inadvertently violated the company’s social media policy on one occasion.
Although Ms Fazzolari said she had been medically cleared to return to work as of last week, SBS management had informed her that there were no suitable shifts for her.
Ms. Fazzolari told the court she believed the station’s letter and refusal to allow her to return to work were retaliation for her having made complaints about age and disability discrimination and for filing a workers’ compensation claim.
She asked the court to extend an interim order issued on September 5 that prevented the broadcaster from terminating her employment pending a full investigation into her allegations by Anti-Discrimination NSW.
“SBS is not a small company… I doubt that the inability to fire me immediately will prevent them from continuing business as usual,” he said.
SBS’s senior attorney, Nicole Choolum, opposed an extension of the order, saying the investigation into Fazzolari’s claims could take “between 12 and 18 months.”
“(If it were extended) SBS would not be able to terminate his employment regardless of any future performance issues in that time period,” he said.
A full investigation is underway into the alleged treatment Ms Fazzolari received at SBS
While Ms Choolum rejected any suggestion that Ms Fazzolari had been treated unfairly by SBS, she added that the broadcaster would “make itself available for a prompt conciliation and cooperate fully with the investigation”.
Larissa Andelman, a senior member of the Tribunal, took a 20-minute break to consider the applications on Monday before deciding to dismiss Ms Fazzolari’s application.
“What that means is that the injunction issued on September 5 ends today,” he said.
SBS declined to comment on whether it intended to fire Ms Fazzolari after the decision, as she feared.
“SBS takes any allegations of discrimination very seriously and is committed to providing a safe and inclusive working environment for all employees,” a spokeswoman said.
Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on this specific case as it is currently the subject of official proceedings.
According to Ms Fazzolari’s LinkedIn profile, her role at SBS involves “overseeing the Audio, Languages and Content department’s annual events calendar.”
She is also responsible for “designing products to use as giveaways at each activation event that are environmentally friendly, reusable, culturally appropriate and within budget.”
Anti-Discrimination NSW’s investigation into her allegations continues.
