Lustenau childcare centre pays 3,500 euros after manager exposes herself

A toddler childcare centre in Lustenau paid a Muslim employee 3,500 euros after its manager exposed herself in front of her, ORF reported. The Equal Treatment Ombud’s Office in Innsbruck identified possible discrimination on grounds of religion, ethnic origin and gender, as well as sexual harassment.

The incident followed the employee arriving at work fully veiled, centre manager Bettina Schmalz told ORF Vorarlberg. Schmalz said she had worried about how parents and children would react if she did not recognise the employee.

Schmalz called her reason for undressing an “absolutely irrational thought”. She said she wanted to show the employee that although people have rights, including gender equality, she could not simply take off her T-shirt as a man might. Schmalz described her actions as serious misconduct and said she was sorry.

The employment relationship ended by mutual agreement. The centre’s operator, the Family Association, paid the employee a one-off compensation payment of 3,500 euros. Association chairman Guntram Bechtold said the situation was regrettable and that such conflicts were complex.

Bechtold said the employee would have been dismissed regardless because falling birth rates had left the centre with excess staff. He said five people had to be laid off and the incident had “definitely” not influenced the decision.

Vorarlberg state ombudsman Klaus Feurstein told ORF he had not encountered a case of this scale before, but said he was not responsible for handling it. He said the matter was dealt with by the Equal Treatment Ombud’s Office in Innsbruck.

Tags: Lustenau, discrimination, childcare