Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/785757
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2017 News 17 discrimination now? on one's work, then it is not discriminatory to reject such a prospective employee. A gay person who is rejected for a job that is instead given to an equally qualified but straight person, but claims that he was turned down because of his sexual orientation. Where two job applicants are equally qual- ified, equally experienced, and both satisfy all the job requirements, it is up to the em- ployer to decide who to employ. A person who applies for a job in a phar- macy who claims s/he was turned down as s/he refuses to sell the morning-after pill. There is a code of ethics for pharmacists which excludes the implications of the law as long as this code of ethics is not discrimi- natory. A person who sympathises with the Op- position and applies for the role of gov- ernment policy officer but is rejected in place of someone clearly less qualified than he, and claims that this was a case of political discrimination. 'Political opinion' is a protected charac- teristic under this Bill, and the Bill applies to both the public administration and the private sector. Therefore, if it turns out that the person chosen is indeed less qualified, and that political opinion was the reason for the rejection, then such a rejection would be discriminatory. Nonetheless, the same would not apply to a person employed in the secretariat of a minister as such position intrinsically requires loyalty to the govern- ment's political vision. A woman who applies to be a security guard or a bouncer but is turned down and claims gender discrimination. 'Sex' is a protected characteristic under this Bill. Being a woman or a man is irrel- evant to carrying out the role of security guard or bouncer, and therefore such rejec- tion would be discriminatory. If, however, that woman is turned down on an objective reason, such as lack of adequate strength, then such rejection would not be discrimi- natory, since such strength may be a genu- ine occupational requirement An elderly person who is turned down for an entry-level job and claims ageism. 'Age' is a protected characteristic under this Bill and therefore when it constitutes the main or sole reason for such a rejection, the exclusion would be tantamount to direct discrimination. A black person who is fluent in Maltese who applies to be a TV presenter but is turned down for the role and claims rac- ism. If that person satisfies all the criteria to be a TV presenter, such as fluency in the Mal- tese language, and it is proven that that per- son was turned down on the basis of one's skin colour, such a rejection would consti- tute direct discrimination under this Bill. A wheelchair-bound person who is turned down for a job simply because the offices of the workplace in question is only accessible by stairs, and claims that he is being discriminated because of his disability. This claim would depend on a number of elements that determine whether the re- quired accessibility is reasonable or other- wise. If the workplace cannot be modified to accommodate a ramp or an elevator, or such modification without costing a dispropor- tionate amount of money, then the employ- er is not discriminating against that person. However, if that building can be reasonably modified, or the employee's office can be re- located to the ground floor, then such modi- fications are expected to be made, and being turned down for that job would indeed be discriminatory on the ground of 'disability'. A black Muslim woman is not allowed to ride a bus by the bus driver and claims discrimination on the basis of her race, religion and sex. Under this Act, discrimination in the ac- cess to goods and services, such as public transport, is illegal. This Bill also addresses multiple ground discrimination for the first time, which discrimination occurs when a person is discriminated on intersecting personal characteristics, such as their race, religion and sex as in this case. There is no justified reason why a black Muslim woman should not be allowed to use public trans- portation, and thus such refusal would be discriminatory. A civil union partner is not allowed to visit his dying partner in hospital be- cause the staff claim he does not have the right to be present. 'Civil status', such as being in a civil union or married, is a protected characteristic un- der this Bill. In its assessment of this case, the Human Rights and Equality Commis- sion would need to compare the treatment with that of a married person in a similar situation to determine whether discrimina- tion occurred or not. A black trans person is denied entry into a club in Paceville for no apparent reason. This Bill clearly states that discrimination in the access to entertainment and recrea- tional activities which are publicly available is illegal. Being denied entry on the basis of a person's skin 'colour' or 'gender identity', despite the fact that that person is of legal age to enter such a club and is not being rowdy, for example, is discriminatory under this Bill. A woman is not allowed to compete in a men's triathlon and claims gender dis- crimination. Although discrimination in the field of sports is illegal under this Act, it is not illegal for a competition to be organised specifically for a particular sex in line with international standards. It is thus perfectly acceptable for the competition organiser to refuse partici- pants who are of a different sex. tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt