A state IR commissioner has recused himself from hearing a high-profile adverse action case after admitting he shouldn't have perused material from the state's anti-corruption body that contradicted other evidence, before he considered admitting it.
A leading workplace academic has called on legislators to consider a UK parliamentary inquiry's recommendation to impose a legal obligation to protect workers from sexual harassment, with breaches resulting in "substantial financial penalties".
A company director has been found personally liable for her company's adverse action when a visa worker was threatened with the sack for speaking to an FWO inspector.
On the second of 16 days of FWC hearings into an IEU equal pay claim for early childhood teachers, the union is blaming low wages for a skill shortage in the overwhelmingly female-dominated sector, while the ACTU says the case will test whether the Fair Work Act's equal pay principle can deliver.
The MEAA has called for the ACCC to block the proposed merger of the Nine Network with Fairfax Media on public interest grounds, while demanding the retention of employees' terms and conditions as the new entity seeks $50 million in savings.
In a rare "assumed disability" discrimination case that has exposed legislative shortcomings, a tribunal has awarded $20,000 to a public servant forced to take sick leave over concerns about her enthusiasm for conspiracy theories.
In a decision confirming that employers must "expressly" advise workers when their job is at risk and provide them enough time to demonstrate improvement, an FWC full bench has quashed a finding that a bike shop complied with the Small Business Unfair Dismissal Code when sacking one of its mechanics.
The FWC will next week respond to reports urging it to speed up and reduce the cost to employers of unfair dismissal and adverse action claims, with a new small business division being held out as a chance to weed out "frequent flyers" pursuing applications of dubious merit.
A Victorian parliamentary inquiry has called for a legislated roll-back of cuts to penalty rates in the retail, hospitality and pharmacy industries, rather than a process of take-home pay orders issued by the Fair Work Commission.
In a ruling that builds on the recent "shadow lawyers" decision, an FWC full bench has found that a large company with in-house IR legal expertise does not require approval to engage a law firm to prepare its defence of a self-represented worker's dismissal claim.
