I know right? It's just like when I applied to be a geriatric stripper at my favorite club. They gave me the same excuse about being too young and overqualified. Blah blah blah... Like, I cultivated these wrinkles and saggy skin for a reason! Now what am I supposed to do? Oh, and it's totally possible to apply for a new position outside of work. Ever heard of online applications?

@#4, I think what #2 meant was looking for a job while on the clock at their present job. looking for another job on company hours is a "considerate" reason for them to for you, because they won't distract you from your job search with "work." yes, you can and should look for a new job on your own time.

2 and 15, nowhere in the FML does it say or indicate that OP's job search was conducted on her current job's time. There are many ways her current employer could find out about her job hunt: the new job could've called for a reference, someone found her resume on a job search website, through the grapevine, etc…

Really?! I'd say the majority demographic of servers is middle-aged women. I guess it depends on where you live...

Could be a 21+ type place and she isn't yet 21? That's what first popped into my head. The too young and overqualified together seem a little strange though...

It could be a bar that requires waitresses to be 21 or older.

In Australia, there are no requirements to be 21 to serve alcohol, just 18. But if the previous place was unlicensed, the OP would need to be 18+ to work on licensed premises.

You might have to be 18 to serve alcohal thats how it was were i worked

Ah, didnt see the location... no clue then!

Honestly, I was thinking they meant she was "too qualified" due to her education/degree or past work history maybe. Not necessarily her amount of experience.

No. You can file a lawsuit if you are terminated based on discrimination of a protected class such as age, race, gender, etc. At will states give employers the power to fire for any other reason, and there's nothing you can do to fight it.

I don't think Australia has at will employment l, but I could be wrong.

Australia may not, but I was replying to the post's assumption about US employment and termination lawsuits.

At will doesn't actually mean you can be fired whenever for whatever. Companies still have to follow their own procedures and policies regarding correct termination practices, and if they don't, they can be sued. Also, most places wouldn't fire someone without a good reason just for the fact that without documentation, the person could assume it's discrimination and sue, and the company could be found at fault. Just wanted to clear that up.

The fairwork.gov.au site has extra info

"Ombudsman" is probably the weirdest word I've ever seen.

It is a Swedish word...

It makes sense in some contexts. If you are over qualified for the vacant position, you might want to be paid more than the company is willing to pay, or you might feel like you're not being challenged and find another job or try to move up in the company. And then they'll just have to fill the position again.

Right, and this is why (in America, at least, I have no clue about Australia) we have college graduates working minimum wage jobs because they're simultaneously overqualified and underqualified for all other jobs and all the jobs within their field are either filled with incompetents who know somebody who knows the bosses, outsourced to other countries, or are filled with underpaid and undertaught workers who have to read off of a script. "Overqualified" is a load of bumpkus and is just an excuse by corporations who want to avoid hiring someone who might be smart enough to realize they're being ripped off.