A full Federal Court has upheld a finding that agreement-sanctioned union stopwork meetings can be freely used to delay and disrupt business as part of a campaign strategy, but has increased fines for the CFMMEU's coercion of head contractor Hutchison by almost 30%.
A company has been forced to reinstate a long-serving senior executive it sacked more than three years ago following his stoush with an HR manager, while also facing a bill of more than $1 million in back pay, long service leave, penalties and compensation.
In a second-time-around ruling on accessorial liability, "exceptionally brilliant" inventor Kia Silverbrook and partner/fellow company director Janette Lee have this time failed to convince a court that they were not knowingly concerned in underpaying workers more than $1 million.
Employer denied natural justice over late agreement: Bench; FWC upholds Coles' harassment sacking; Victorian gig economy inquiry extends submission deadline; and half million dollar safety fine for Patrick over threats to workers.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched the first legal action using new reverse onus of proof provisions that require employers to disprove underpayment claims if they have not kept adequate records.
The Federal Circuit Court has fined a former 7-Eleven operator more than $154,000 for using a cash-back scheme to circumvent a biometric payroll system introduced by head office to stamp out underpayments.
Victoria's Supreme Court has lobbed a $120,000 contempt fine against the CFMMEU for pre-amalgamation MUA leaders' speeches to picketers at a Melbourne container terminal, finding the union made a calculated decision that its interests would be well served by flouting "no go" orders.
A small coach company that voluntarily repaid two drivers almost $44,000 after admitting underpaying them has been penalised a total of $168,300, despite a judge finding the breaches were a result of "clumsiness and inadvertence" rather than deliberate.
CFMMEU official Joe Myles has been hit with his second personal payment order in four months, the Federal Court today fining him $44,000 for a series of threats and actions over an unfavoured subcontractor working on a level crossing site in 2013 and 2014.
A multinational company has been ordered to pay $160,000 to a former executive sacked over concerns about his capacity to return to work, despite its HR manager's insistence it was "insulting" to suggest the employee's depression played any part in the decision.
