David Jones paid out discrimination claim against former CEO
Upmarket department store David Jones paid a small cash settlement to an employee who made a claim of discrimination against its former chief executive David Thomas.
The company on Thursday revealed Mr Thomas had been the subject of a discrimination complaint in November last year.
David Jones said it brought in law firm Ashurst to investigate the allegation, and that "no evidence was found to support the claim".
The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald can now reveal that a cash settlement was paid to the employee who made the claim against Mr Thomas. A David Jones spokesman confirmed this on Friday.
There was no admission of any wrongdoing by Mr Thomas. Settlement payments are often made for a variety of reasons, including to avoid the cost of litigation.
The employee is understood to have been a member of David Jones' visual merchandising team and had engaged Harmers Workplace Lawyers.
Harmers is the firm behind high-profile workplace cases including executive assistant Amber Harrison's claim against Seven West Media following her affair with its chief executive Tim Worner.
It was also behind the landmark 2010 sexual harassment case brought against David Jones by Kristy Fraser-Kirk, which claimed the scalp of its then CEO Mark McInnes.
A spokesman for Harmers said he did not have any information to provide about the case.
It is understood the claim was settled in recent weeks. The exact size of the payout is not known but it is was described as "small".
While confirming a settlement was reached, David Jones on Friday stuck to its assertion that Mr Thomas had resigned only for "personal reasons".
“David Jones does not tolerate discrimination in any form and is focused on fostering an inclusive culture and workplace for its team that does not differentiate based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation," the company said.
Mr Thomas resigned this week, which David Jones said was for "personal reasons". The Age and SMH are not suggesting that Mr Thomas' departure is connected to the complaint or settlement agreement.
David Jones has now gone through four CEOs in less than five years: Mr Thomas, John Dixon in May last year, Ian Nairn in 2016, also for "personal reasons", and Paul Zahra in 2014, shortly after South African retailer Woolworths Holdings bought the department store for $2.1 billion.
It comes as David Jones faces falling sales and earnings, and undergoes a major $200 million development of its flagship store on Sydney's Elizabeth Street.