01.53 am, Friday February 24 2012

Man sacked for slurs on Facebook

14:30 AEDT Wed Feb 9 2011
By Anne Lin, ninemsn
VIEWS: 0
| FLOCKS: 0
| comments0 comments so far
Also on
Anjelica Houston (TODAY)splashedActress throws water at Fallon will she?Cancer mum's live TV proposal demolishedExplosives take down bridge run overCameraman hit by PM's convoy faking itThings actors do for an Oscar kiss kissThe A to Z of love and dating

A Gold Coast man has lost his job after his employer confronted him about derogatory comments he published on Facebook.

Jason Dowling, who worked on the Hinze Dam Project managed by Thiess Pty Ltd, has been stood down after admitting to posting offensive remarks following a tip-off by a member of the public.

A 25-year-old law student from Lismore who only wanted to be identified as Caroline told ninemsn she emailed Thiess on January 30 with a link to Mr Dowling's Facebook page.

Four days later she received a response from Thiess group HR manager Mark Vining saying Mr Dowling's employment at the company had been terminated following an investigation.

In addition, a second unidentified employee was also fired and a third tendered his resignation.

"Those comments are in no way supported by our business practices, are in breach of various Company and Project policies, and certainly not encouraged or endorsed by the management of Thiess," Mr Vining wrote in that letter.

"Thiess has a long and proud history of promoting diversity and equality in our workforce, and have many programmes in place to support these objectives."

NEWSWATCH: Have you gotten in trouble over comments on Facebook? Tell us your story.

Caroline told ninemsn she first saw screen shots of Mr Dowling's comments posted on the website PWSNT.com and "out of curiosity" looked him up on Facebook.

She said she found "really vile racist slurs" on his wall, which were publically viewable by anyone because of his low privacy settings.

"He mentioned his workplace a couple of times and he made homophobic comments about some workmates," Caroline said.

He made hateful remarks directed at Aboriginal people, Muslims, refugees and women.

Caroline told ninemsn she had doubts about letting his employer know but felt it was the right thing to do.

"I didn't contact his workplace immediately but it was racial vilification and I thought his workplace really should know [because] I'm sure his attitude would've affected people in his workplace."

Although Mr Dowling's Facebook page has now been deleted, some of the censored screen shots and correspondences have been posted on The Anti-Bogan's 'Wall of Shame', a blog that aims to document racism in Australia.

An anonymous blogger from The Anti-Bogan told ninemsn that both Mr Dowling and his girlfriend have been in contact with them, confirming the authenticity of the story.

Mr Dowling told The Anti-Bogan he had lost his job and "around $12,000 in incentive bonuses and entitlements".

Mr Dowling said the jokes made were intended for his friends only and not "for people to go looking for things that offend them".

The Anti-Bogan blogger has defended the site, saying the majority of content published is taken from public forums and walls.

"We're just republishing what people have published publicly, exposing, highlighting and immortalising it. That's why we're different from WikiLeaks."

"If anyone ever says racism isn't alive in Australia, we say here is documented evidence. We have lots of files and have even exposed two people from the Australian Defence Force," he said.

Thiess representatives chose not to comment when contacted about this article.

Mr Dowling has not responded to ninemsn's requests for comment.

 
Political hit VIDEO: Cameraman run over by car in PM's convoy. Heartwarming VIDEO: Boyfriend proposes to cancer mum on live TV. Fiery end VIDEO: Ohio bridge taken down with explosives. Life imitates art VIDEO: Actor channels character, chucks water at host. Undercover bossPublic grilling VIDEO: Undercover CEO scolds cocky manager. Katy Perry (AAP)Inside look PHOTOS: Katy Perry selling her New York apartment.

Most popular

 Nine reporter sits next to Rudd on planeNine News US correspondent Denham Hitchcock, who has been chasing Kevin Rudd for days, got a lucky break when he was seated next to him on a flight.
 Mum 'shocked' by daughter's obese ratingA Melbourne woman says she thought she was a bad mother after being told her healthy looking four-year-old daughter was "obese" during a routine check-up.
 Rudd daughter flies home for family chatKevin Rudd's daughter Jessica is flying home from Beijing for a family meeting about whether her father should have another crack at the PM gig.
 Shot boy, 8, comforts mother, doesn't cryAn eight-year-old New York boy shot in the shoulder when an armed cyclist fired into a shopfront did not cry and comforted his mother despite his injury.
 Teen lifts car weighing over 900kg off grandadA Michigan teenager has put on a display of superhuman strength, lifting a car weighing more than 900kg that had fallen on top of his grandfather.
 Sydney shark discovery 'kept secret'NSW Fisheries staff were ordered not to tell the public a two-metre bull shark was caught in Sydney's south, despite public safety concerns.
 Sydney adult shop destroyed by fireA lunchtime fire has gutted an adult shop in Sydney's Darlinghurst and led to the evacuation of 50 people from the premises and adjacent buildings.
 'Rude' reporter apologises to GillardA reporter from The Australian newspaper who was sharply rebuked by Prime Minister Julia Gillard for being "rude" at a press conference this morning has apologised for his behaviour.
 Smith coy on agenda behind Gillard backersDefence Minister Stephen Smith has sidestepped claims senior Labor figures would rather lose the next election than bring back Kevin Rudd.
 Rudd a top foreign minister: CanadaKevin Rudd was one of the best foreign ministers, his Canadian counterpart John Baird says.
advertisement
Be our fan on Facebook
Most Recommended
You need the latest version of Flash Player.
Enjoy the most vivid content on the web
Watch video without extra features
Interact with applications on your favourite sites
Upgrade now

page complete