CBRE being sued in Federal Court by staffer after departure of veteran retail leasing manager

A senior CBRE manager has launched Fair Work breach action against the property giant as details emerge about a mysterious USB delivered to a former executive.

Damian Frazzica (right) has launched a Fair Work case against his employer CBRE.

The mystery contents of a USB linked to the departure of a high-profile CBRE manager have been revealed as the national property company is being sued by a staffer.

Damian Frazzica, who was this week still listed as a senior manager on CBRE’s website, launched Fair Work breach action against the agency on September 12.

CBRE is yet to file a defence on the matter, which is set for hearing on October 24.

Federal Court documents can’t be accessed by the public until after the matter’s first hearing, so the nature of the legal action is unconfirmed, however there are allegations the case will draw in multiple past and present CBRE staff, including its former national head of retail leasing, Leif Olson.

Mr Olson left CBRE in October last year and is in the process of starting a new agency, Minton Property Co, which he registered with ASIC in December last year.

Damian Frazzica is taking CBRE to court in a Fair Work action.

Leif Olson left CBRE in October.

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CBRE said there was nothing sinister in the reported delivery of a USB to Mr Olson by the company’s head of HR Anja Vosper, after he’d left the company.

It’s understood the USB itself is not related to the Federal Court case.

“The USB contained family photos and personal documents belonging to Mr Olson, our former employee,” a spokeswoman said.

“It did not contain company information or property. Our HR professionals were following our standard process for returning personal property to an employee after their departure.”

Mr Olson’s LinkedIn profile was offline on Wednesday this week and he has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Mr Frazzica declined to comment execpt to confirm he’d lodged the claim.

His legal firm, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, also declined to comment on Wednesday.

CBRE said Mr Frazzica’s claims were “without merit”, saying the company would “address this matter in the proper legal forum”.

The claim is the only one currently before the court for CBRE. Asked to comment generally about the company’s culture and treatment of staff, said it “works hard to minimise misconduct at our company, including mandatory training”.

“We have multiple avenues for reporting misconduct and we offer assistance to anyone who has experienced misconduct,” the spokeswoman said.

“When allegations of serious misconduct are reported, our Trust function, led by experienced, full-time investigators, conducts an independent and thorough investigation.

“Whenever allegations are substantiated, we take appropriate action, consistent with our corporate policies and values.”

Originally published as CBRE being sued in Federal Court by staffer after departure of veteran retail leasing manager