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Free Malaysia Today
21-06-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Sacking of teacher for refusing Covid-19 vaccine upheld
The Kuala Lumpur Industrial Court said the teacher's refusal to take the Covid-19 vaccine was not supported by sound medical justification. ( Facebook pic) PETALING JAYA : The Industrial Court has ruled that a private school in Shah Alam was entitled to sack a teacher who refused to take the Covid-19 vaccine as ordered by her employer in 2021. Kuala Lumpur Industrial Court chairman S Vanithamany said the claimant's job required interaction with parents, school staff and children, which was why the school ordered all its employees to take the jab. While the teacher has a legitimate right to be concerned about the side effects of any medication or vaccines prescribed, she said, it must be reasonable and supported by sound medical justification. 'She is not a medical expert. Her refusal to take the vaccine without any medical justification is unreasonable and unfounded,' Vanithamany said in the award handed down two weeks ago. The teacher, a foreign national identified as Tifu, was employed by Peninsula Education (Setia Alam) Sdn Bhd from Jan 18, 2021, with a monthly salary of RM15,500. She said she had performed her duties diligently until she was dismissed from the job in December that year. Tifu said she was given an exceptional performance appraisal from the school's principal in June 2021, and was also awarded the prestigious 'Malaysia Outstanding Teacher Award 2021' by the Malaysian and Asia Pacific Arts Festival. In several emails and Zoom meetings with school authorities, she had maintained that there was no law stating that she must be vaccinated. She also said the mandatory vaccine policy was not in her employment contract although Covid-19 was already an issue and the Movement Control Order (MCO) was in place when she was offered the job. The claimant claimed she had allergies that made it impossible for her to take any Covid-19 vaccine, and also argued there was no law that made the vaccination mandatory for her to continue working at the school. Despite the six months' notice required or salary in lieu as stated in her contract, she said, the company only gave her nine days and cancelled her visa, forcing her to leave the country. In its reply, Peninsula Education said it had adhered strictly to the MCO and lockdown restrictions in Malaysia and bore the cost of vaccination for the staff, which was RM190 a person at the time. The company said the claimant gave numerous 'flimsy, unreasonable and unsubstantiated' excuses for her refusal to get vaccinated. 'The claimant's refusal to get the vaccination was in breach of Clause 6.4 of the employment contract, where she explicitly agreed to all lawful and reasonable directions of the company and not to act in any way contrary to its policies and any laws of Malaysia,' it said. Peninsula Education said it had urged the claimant to reconsider her decision, repeatedly reminding her that it owed its employees and customers a high duty of care. In her award, Vanithamany said the company had a statutory duty under Section 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 to ensure the safety, health and welfare of all its employees. 'It is apparent to this court that the company had taken all reasonable steps, including having several virtual meetings to explain the vaccination policy to the claimant. 'These steps were taken as part of the company's broader responsibility to ensure the welfare and safety of all its employees, as required by law and also its corporate duty,' she said. She added that the claimant was working in an environment that required her to have contact and dealings with other employees. Vanithamany said the claimant could not perform her duties remotely, as it was impractical for the employer to create special arrangements, especially given that she was the only employee refusing to be vaccinated. 'It is this court's view that the claimant's conduct in refusing to be vaccinated for Covid-19 was totally unreasonable. Based on all the evidence, this court is convinced that the claimant was in breach of her employment contract,' she said.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Schoolteacher who was sacked for yelling at misbehaving students wins case against school
A schoolteacher at an Islamic school who was 'absurdly' sacked for yelling at misbehaving students has won $56,000 in compensation from the Fair Work Commission. Commissioner Stephen Crawford last June found Paramjit Brownson, who was a Year 9 teacher at the Australian International Islamic College at Durack in Brisbane, was unfairly dismissed and ordered the school to reinstate her. However the college successfully appealed the decision, which was sent back for a re-hearing by Commissioner Crawford. His re-consideration of the matter again ruled in favour of the dismissed teacher and said the true cause of her dismissal was not about how she addressed students, but a falling out with the college director over his treatement of another teacher. The Commission ruled she was unlikely to get fair treatment if she was reinstated so instead awarded her the maximum compensation. Commissioner Crawford said the school dismissed the teacher in December 2023, for yelling at students that were misbehaving. 'I consider it is absurd to suggest that a high school teacher can be found to have committed serious misconduct simply because they have raised their voice towards misbehaving students,' he said. 'There is already a well-documented shortage of schoolteachers in Australia [and] that problem will only be exacerbated if schools rush to dismiss competent and experienced teachers simply because some students complain about being spoken to in a raised voice when they have been misbehaving. 'Teachers such as (her) must also protect the interests of the students that are being negatively impacted by misbehaving students. 'I have no doubt that parents expect teachers to take strong action when students are engaging in conduct such as bullying or repeatedly disrupting class to an extent where the learning outcomes for other students are affected.' The Commission heard evidence from a student that the teacher was not the only member of staff who raised their voice toward students and that many others did so much more often. 'Student A's evidence completely undermines the college's position that yelling at misbehaving students is serious misconduct justifying dismissal,' he said. Commissioner Crawford found that the the teacher's dismissal was actually motivated by antagonism between her and college director Mohamed Azhari, prompted by her complaints about the way he had treated another staff member. The director admitted speaking in a 'very aggressive and inappropriate manner' to another female teacher at a college event in November 2023. The conversation, at a Jalsa event to celebrate Islamic culture and heritage, happened in front of parents, staff, and students. The director apologised to the teacher at a subsequent meeting, at which the soon-to-be-dismissed teacher acted as a support person. The teacher then sent a detailed email about what occurred at the event to the director, the teacher concerned, the principal, the deputy and other staff. 'I find that (her) email upset (the director) and triggered the contrived and flawed subsequent sequence of events that led to (her) dismissal.' Commissioner Crawford said he could see no other explanation as to why the college had shifted so dramatically from initially supporting her in disciplinary actions towards students to later raising various historical allegations against her and sacking her. 'I am satisfied that the dismissal of Ms Brownson was unjust and unreasonable,' Commissioner Crawford ruled. 'There was not a valid reason for Ms Brownson's dismissal relating to her conduct or capacity. Ms Brownson was unfairly targeted by Mr Azhari for vindictive personal reasons.' Finding no valid reason to dismiss the teacher, Commissioner Crawford said ordinarily he would rule the teacher be reinstated but in this case that was not practical due to the breakdown in the relationship between Ms Brownson and Mr Azhari. 'Although concerns about the conduct of the employer should not ordinarily weigh against reinstatement because it is effectively rewarding bad behaviour, I consider this is quite an extreme case,' he said. '(The director) has demonstrated he is prepared to act inappropriately to achieve his objectives.' Commissioner Crawford found the teacher would have remained employed for a further five years if she had not been dismissed and awarded her maximum compensation of $55,786.90 plus superannuation.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former 'South Park' writer launches parody website lampooning Brevard school board
Apart from citing parental rights and Florida statute, Brevard's school board has shared little about their reasons for not opting to renew the contract of an AP English Literature teacher who used the chosen name of a high school senior without parental permission. So a political activist and comedian took things into his own hands and imagined what they might say. On May 6, former "South Park" and "Mad TV" writer Toby Morton launched a satirical website parodying the five members of Brevard's school board and Superintendent Mark Rendell. "Meet the Dysfunctional Culture Warriors Mismanaging Brevard County, Florida," a banner reads on the site's homepage. At the May 6 school board meeting, one student brought up the website, which, in addition to lampooning board members, features satirical, irreverent takes on issues including book bans, LGBTQ rights and teacher dismissals. "Congratulations on your new website, the student told board members. "We're now a national joke." The school board, Rendell and BPS' communication department did not respond to a request for comment. Prior to 2023, Morton — who had been creating satirical websites on political figures including Elise Stefanik, R-NY, and former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, and issues like gun control for several years at that point — had never heard of Brevard. Then he came across Moms for Liberty: a now-nationwide conservative group with roots on the Space Coast tackling so-called culture war issues like masks and vaccines, transgender student participation in sports and the removal of certain books from schools in the name of parental rights. It prompted Morton to create "Moms for Liberties," a website parodying the group and bringing attention to which school board candidates around the country were endorsed by the organization. It also spurred him to begin paying closer attention to school board politics. "I've been somewhat following the Brevard County school board, which is, I don't know the nice way to say it ... they're just a (expletive) mess," said Morton, who splits his time between Los Angeles and the Midwest. Then, in April, Brevard made international headlines when Rendell's opted not to renew the contract of Melissa Calhoun, an Satellite High teacher who called a 17-year-old dual-enrolled student by their chosen name. His choice was reaffirmed by the board at an April 22 meeting, when four of the five members voted against retraining her on the 2023 Florida Board of Education rule requiring parental permission for students to go by another name and keeping her on. The situation caught Morton's attention and prompted him to launch the website — whose homepage bears the words "This Website is Parody" — lambasting the board. "There's just no logical explanation for it," Morton said, referencing the board's decision not to renew Calhoun. One blog post on the website addresses the issue. "I have ... a blog page that's written by the Brevard school board, from their perspective, and that's just me getting out all my anger," Morton said. "There's one line where it's like, 'Yes, Melissa Calhoun was beloved by students. Yes, she taught for over 12 years, and yet, she's committed the unspeakable crime of showing basic decency.' You know, it's stuff like that where it's so mindless what they're doing." It isn't just about Calhoun for Morton. As he created the website and dug into the school board's history on matters like the removal of certain books from schools, LGBTQ issues and their own conduct at public meetings, Morton — the youngest of nine kids and now father to a 4-year-old son — grew concerned about the impact their leadership has had and would continue to have on students in Brevard, he said. "I have a gay sister, a gay brother; two of my other sisters married into Black families. It was just a melting pot of everything ... it was just open-minded, and that's how I grew up," Morton said. "Kids are so impressionable, and it just ... it terrifies me that these people are making decisions for children." Despite its sardonic tone, there's a serious message behind Morton said. "I felt doing (the website) from their perspective would be not only funny ... but also to let people just to paint a picture of how ridiculous they are," he said. "It's not like I can change their mind or change the course of the school board, but the more focus I can put on them, I think the better." That's been the goal of protesters for the past month: to raise awareness about Calhoun's situation and pull local and national attention to the board. Since news broke about Calhoun's contract not being renewed, at least four protests have been held in her support, with the most recent group gathering ahead of the May 6 school board meeting. Protesters stood in the rain and waved signs that read, "I stand with Ms. Calhoun, shame on you, BPS," "Serve every student with excellence, support trans kids, not the transphobic parents," and "Students over politics." Calhoun wasn't the only teacher to be investigated by the district in relation to the use of her student's chosen name, according to BPS Spokesperson Janet Murnaghan, though only Calhoun was reprimanded. Murnaghan added that her contract wasn't renewed because her teaching credentials were under review by the state department of education due to her actions. According to Florida's 2023 rule, educators must obtain parental permission before using any alternative to a student's legal name. That include shortened forms of students' given names, as well as chosen names related to gender identities. In the Satellite High case, classmates and community members said the student's name was chosen because of their gender identity. The rule, meant to enforce House Bill 1069, does not lay out a punishment for educators who violate it. Calhoun is the first known teacher to suffer job loss since its 2023 passage. Investigations into teachers prompted by social media comments have also taken place in recent weeks, according to former board member Jennifer Jenkins, with at least two teachers saying they were questioned about whether or not they use students' chosen names, if they display pride flags or keep banned books in their classrooms. At the May 6 board meeting, she said one teacher was pressured to disclose if they had transgender students in their class and that dozens of students had also been questioned as well. "This isn't about protecting kids," she said. "It's about policing teachers and pushing a political agenda." Murnaghan did not confirm whether or not students had been questioned. When asked about teacher investigations, she said any complaints must be investigated according to Florida statute. "There are investigations across the district on a variety of topics," she said, adding that the district couldn't comment on active investigations. "Thus far no other employee has received a letter of reprimand, or other disciplinary action, related to referring to a student by a different gender identity without parental permission." Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at fwalker@ X: @_finchwalker. Instagram: @finchwalker_. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 'South Park' alum lambastes Brevard school board with parody website
