Penalties page 2 of 44

433 articles are classified in All Articles > Legal > Penalties


"Well-intentioned" department fined over 2016 teacher sacking

A former public school teacher has been awarded $10,500 in penalties after pursuing the ACT's education department through the courts for more than seven years over allegations it unlawfully dismissed her, breaching its agreement's job security terms.


Fined union official spared personal payment order

A CFMEU official has escaped having to personally pay a $7000 fine despite a court accepting that he raised the issue of workers' pay when blocking a non-union contractor's concrete pour.

Judge issues warning on director's telehealth sick note

A judge has held that an "instant" online script did not excuse an underpaying employer from having to attend a penalty hearing, while also warning that in future the court is unlikely to accept certificates from providers using the model adopted by the Wesfarmers-owned service.

FWO steps up pursuit of underpaying economist

A court has issued rare orders compelling a former economics professor to face FWO questions under oath about his capacity to pay penalties and compensation arising from underpayment judgments handed down in 2019 and 2020.

Personal fine for official who knocked manager's hat off

A CFMMEU official who pushed a site manager and knocked his hard hat off has copped a $10,500 fine and orders to personally fork out 30%, while the repeat offender's latest transgression has cost the union more than $70,000.

Employer fined $160K for failing to pay out annual leave

A judge has declined to bundle together an employer's various workplace breaches in ordering it to pay $163,000 in fines to a former worker for stripping his severance pay of more than 500 accumulated annual leave hours.

Loopholes Bill should not override state wage theft laws, inquiry told

The Victorian Government, the State's Trades Hall and the ASU are calling for the Albanese Government to stick to its pre-election commitment to enact a carve-out in the Closing Loopholes Bill so that state wage theft laws can continue to operate.

KFC facing potential class action over rest breaks

Shine and RAFFWU are preparing a class action against KFC to win compensation for potentially tens of thousands of workers allegedly denied proper rest breaks, weeks after the Federal Court slammed the SDA over its approach to McDonald's rest breaks litigation and decided its case should run concurrently with an earlier Shine/RAFFWU proceeding.

State and federal wage theft laws operate in parallel, High Court told

State Labor governments intervening in a High Court constitutional challenge to Victoria's wage theft laws are arguing there is no inconsistency with the Fair Work Act that could void a criminal prosecution, in a case coinciding with the Albanese Government's plan to introduce federal sanctions of up to 10 years in prison and maximum fines of $8 million.