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A British healthcare worker was awarded almost $40,000 by a tribunal after colleagues compared her to “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader.
Lorna Rooke, a worker in Britain’s National Health Service, was compensated £28,989.61, or around $39,000, after her colleague completed a Star Wars-themed online personality test on her behalf, which came to the conclusion that she had the same personality type as Darth Vader.
An employment tribunal in Croydon, South London, called the incident a “detriment” to Rooke, meaning she suffered a negative or harmful experience in the workplace.
The incident took place in August 2021 while Rooke was working for the NHS’s blood and transplant service, where she had been employed since 2003.
Some of her coworkers took a Star Wars-themed Myers-Briggs-style questionnaire — a test that identifies people as one of 16 personality types, for instance, introverts or extroverts, that helps understand personality preferences.
During the test, Rooke was not present when a colleague took it upon herself to stand in her colleague’s shoes and answer on her behalf.
Darth Vader, the notorious galactic overlord in the original movies of the “Star Wars” franchise, was described during the personality test as “someone who was a very focused individual who brings the team together.”
Rooke said the incident made her “feel unpopular” and added to her “stress and anxiety” within her workplace.
“Darth Vader is a legendary villain of the Star Wars series, and being aligned with his personality is insulting,” Judge Kathryn Ramsden said in the court.
Given the results were shared in a group environment, Judge Ramsden added it is “little wonder” that Rooke was “upset” by it.
Rook said during proceedings that the Darth Vader incident was the “last straw,” leading her to resign from her job.
The tribunal, however, rejected Rooke’s complaint that the incident had a “sufficient effect” on her to resign months later in 2021.
They also said direct disability discrimination was “not well-founded and is dismissed,” along with a claim of unfair dismissal.
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