A court has revived a former national swim coach's underpayment claims, granting him leave to challenge a finding that an award did not cover his role.
The FWO has won its first "serious contravention" penalties three years after the provisions were added to the Fair Work Act, a café and its former general manager fined a total of $230,000 on their second visit to court for underpaying workers.
The Federal Court has doused the construction watchdog's pursuit of one of the CFMMEU's national leaders for allegedly organising an illegal strike, finding construction workers were entitled to pass more than two showery days in a "smoko shed" under the award's inclement weather provisions.
In a significant judgment closely examining the limits of "industrial activity", a full Federal Court led by Chief Justice James Allsop has overturned penalties imposed on two CFMMEU officials for leading a walk-out from a building site that had no separate toilet for a female worker.
Victoria International Container Terminal has asked the High Court to consider whether a full Federal Court brought the administration of justice into disrepute when it failed to find MUA organiser Richard Lunt a "front man" for the union's bid to quash the approval of the stevedore's enterprise agreement.
A judge has affirmed, in a general protections case alleging "inhumane treatment", the courts' ability to overlook the use of incorrect forms to initiate proceedings.
A 61-year-old former economics professor has been fined $31,000 for underpaying two visa holders employed at a Korean grocery, a court finding he deliberately arranged for them to receive as little as $10 an hour.
A full Federal Court has warned against "hypothetical postulation" in refusing to say whether it can make a common fund order on conclusion of a class action brought by 7-Eleven franchisees, while suggesting it could still happen if considered just.
An accountancy firm that created and gave the FWO false records covering up a massage parlour's underpayments must pay more per breach than the family-run employer, which has been fined about 10% of the penalties sought by the workplace watchdog.
