Equal Status Act, 2000

Amendment of Employment Equality Act, 1998.

47.—The Employment Equality Act, 1998 , is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 105:

“Transitional provision.

106.—(1) This section applies to a claim for redress under a repealed enactment—

(a) which is made on or after the commencement of Part VII (the ‘commencement date’), and

(b) which relates—

(i) only to conduct before the commencement date, or

(ii) to conduct both before and after that date.

(2) In this section—

‘commencement date’ means the 18th day of October, 1999;

‘conduct’ means conduct alleged to have occurred;

‘repealed enactment’ means the Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act, 1974 , or the Employment Equality Act, 1977 .

(3) A claim for redress to which this section applies shall—

(a) as regards the substance of the claim—

(i) if or in so far as the claim relates to conduct before the commencement date, be dealt with as if the enactment concerned had not been repealed, and

(ii) in so far as it may relate to conduct after that date, be dealt with under this Act,

and

(b) in all other respects, be dealt with as if it were a claim under section 77.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3)—

(a) the claim concerned shall be referred or brought to the Director, the Labour Court or the Circuit Court, as appropriate, and

(b) Part VII shall apply in relation to it, with the modification that sections 76 and 82 shall not apply in relation to a case referred to in paragraph (a)(i) of that subsection and with any other necessary modifications.

(5) A claim for redress under a repealed enactment which is pending on the commencement date shall, if the conduct to which it relates also occurs after that date, be treated as if it were a claim for redress to which this section applies, and accordingly subsections (3) and (4) shall apply in relation to it.

(6) A decision or determination on a claim for redress referred to in this section may, and at the request of the claimant shall, where appropriate, specify separate findings in relation to conduct before and after the commencement date.

(7) The Director or a person appointed under section 75(4)(a) to be an equality officer may exercise the powers of an equality officer under a repealed enactment.

(8) This section shall be deemed to have come into operation on the commencement date.”.