A Federal Court judge has upended the recently-adopted precept that unions are vicariously responsible for entry breaches by officials under the Fair Work Act's 'liabilities of bodies corporate' clause, declaring that a close examination of related cases reveals no support for the contention.
A tribunal has penalised the operator of a string of Adelaide massage parlours who said he refused to keep records and provide pay slips because he was "too busy and lazy".
The Federal Circuit Court has levelled a $75,000 fine and is expected to order more than $25,000 in compensation against the director of a liquidated supermarkets enterprise who withheld about $450,000 in union dues, superannuation and Easter rates from more than 200 employees.
An Australia Post employee has failed in a Federal Court bid to win reinstatement after his summary dismissal for acting as a paid industrial advocate for his colleagues.
The SA Labor Party has pledged to criminalise wage theft if it retains power at the state election on March 17, with the worst repeat offenders facing jail terms of up to 15 years.
As independent federal MP Cathy McGowan vows to push for a new ministerial sex ban to be extended to all those working in Parliament, an IR lawyer says the approach has little practical use in the private sector where the focus is on disclosure.
Woolworths says it will train head contractors on their IR obligations, require all cleaning contractors to use a third-party payroll system and increase its auditing, after an FWO investigation revealed the retailer contributed to a culture of non-compliance in its Tasmanian cleaning supply chain.
A full Federal Court has found that a CFMEU official breached the Fair Work Act's "hinder or obstruct" prohibition for permit-holders when he "liberally" swore at a safety inspector, but rejected the ABCC's argument that it was denied procedural fairness when the trial judge described former Commissioner Nigel Hadgkiss's questioning of a witness as "inexcusable".
In a decision sure to be closely analysed by employers, a court has ruled that a worker is entitled to accrued annual leave despite being paid a casual loading for 15 years.
The TWU has been penalised more than $270,000 for failing to remove almost 21,000 unfinancial members from a state branch register over a 12-year period.
