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Left-wing employee will continue to work with her independent teal MP boss even though she was fired
- Sally Rugg is suing her independent teal parliamentary boss, Dr Monique Ryan
- She alleges that MP tried to fire her when she complained about the workload
- The court ruled that Ms Rugg can keep the post of chief of staff for two more weeks
Political staffer Sally Rugg will keep her job for US Rep. Monique Ryan under a temporary injunction
Sally Rugg, a political staffer, will keep her job for US MP Monique Ryan under a temporary agreement agreed in Federal Court.
Ms Rugg took her boss and the Commonwealth of Australia to court alleging that they violated her rights when she was made redundant effective January 31.
On Friday, lawyers representing the Commonwealth, Dr Ryan and Sally Rugg appeared in Melbourne Federal Court.
Dr. Ryan appeared relaxed as she sat in the courtroom as lawyers discussed the matter before Judge Debbie Mortimer.
The court was told that Ms Rugg was watching online from her solicitor’s office.
Sally Rugg (pictured centre, with Dr Ryan, right) was a prominent activist in Melbourne before taking a job with the newly elected member of Kooyong.
The activist-turned-political staffer alleges that her boss, Kooyong’s teal MP, “directly acquired [or] induced the Commonwealth to fire her after she refused to work extra hours.
The refusal, says Ms. Rugg, is protected by the Fair Labor Act.
In an interlocutory hearing on Friday, Ms Rugg asked the court to impose an injunction preventing her termination from taking effect.
Shortly before noon, the court heard that the parties had reached an agreement to extend their employment until 5:00 pm on February 17 to allow the mediation to take place.
On behalf of the Commonwealth, Nick Harrington undertook to continue Ms Rugg’s employment and pay her ‘miscellaneous licences’.
Dr. Monique Ryan (pictured outside court on Friday) appeared relaxed as she sat in the courtroom as lawyers discussed the matter before Judge Debbie Mortimer.
Sally Rugg’s attorney, Josh Bornstein (pictured, right), told the court that his client was viewing online at his law firm’s office.
Judge Mortimer ordered the parties to enter mediation in an effort to resolve the situation before the matter returns to court on February 17.
“In my experience, negotiated results are usually better results,” he said.
In an application filed with the court earlier this week, Ms Rugg alleges the Commonwealth engaged in “hostile conduct” after she refused to work extra hours.
She is seeking compensation.
Ms Rugg is a Melbourne-based activist who previously worked at GetUp and Change.org before taking over as Dr Ryan’s chief of staff last year.
The Fair Labor Act allows employees to refuse to work ‘unreasonable hours’ under a number of factors including health and personal circumstances, whether it is outside of usual industry patterns, and their level of responsibility.