Court and tribunal decisions page 203 of 371

An Aboriginal night patrol officer sacked for timesheet discrepancies has won back his council role after an FWC member took into account "very strong" ties to his remote community and the dearth of alternative employment opportunities.

An academic has welcomed a significant FWC full bench finding that a worker's refusal to participate in fingerprint scanning did not justify his dismissal and warns that many employers lack awareness of their legal obligations and the potential consequences of biometric technology.

A full Federal Court majority has today rejected a judge's reasoning for ordering the MUA to pay a fine of just $38,000 for a week-long unlawful strike at Hutchison Ports' Sydney and Brisbane container terminals, but has rebuffed the FWO's contention that the stevedore should have been awarded $600,000 in damages it didn't seek.

A tribunal has ruled against UFU Victorian branch and national secretary Peter Marshall in a dispute over defined benefit superannuation that could have added about $1 million to his retirement benefits.

The Federal Court has ordered a construction company to reinstate an electrician until it decides whether it took adverse action by sacking him within 10 days of his becoming a health and safety representative and reporting suspected asbestos in a water tunnel.

The Federal Circuit Court has ordered indemnity costs against two casual employees who refused offers to settle their adverse action and award breach cases for $10,000 and maintained their demands for $95,000 payouts.

The FWC has used new legislation permitting it to overlook minor technical or procedural errors in agreements to endorse an enterprise deal with a bargaining notice that failed to comply with the Act's pre-approval requirements.

One of Australia's largest employers has convinced the FWC that it should have access to external legal representation to defend its dismissal of a self-represented employee accused of stealing $400, because its in-house legal and HR personnel lack expertise in IR advocacy.

The private operator of Sydney's newest rail line has agreed to continue paying an RTBU delegate pending an expedited trial in July into allegations that it sacked him because he helped prepare for a majority support determination application, after the Federal Court today found serious questions to be tried.

James Cook University is fighting back against a Federal Circuit Court finding that it unlawfully sacked an academic who criticised prominent climate research, while the NTEU has welcomed a finding that the institution's code of conduct is "subordinate" to an intellectual freedom clause in its agreement.