The FSU is suing the Commonwealth Bank in the Federal Court for allegedly denying retail banking employees 10-minute rest breaks, claiming it owes at least $45 million in backpay to about 3000 workers.
McDonald's has been hit with a second Federal Court case over its alleged failure to provide paid rest breaks, with a RAFFWU-backed class action claiming thousands of past and present workers are potentially owed millions over the "systemic" issue.
The RTBU is prosecuting a Melbourne tram company and its chief operations officer for allegedly misrepresenting drivers' rights to unpaid meal breaks when they are running behind timetable.
A court has today praised RAFFWU for its service of the national interest in pursuing a McDonald's franchisee and securing $82,000 in fines against if for sinister, cruel, coercive threats via Facebook posts to deny its predominantly young workforce drink and toilet breaks required under the fast food chain's agreement.
A full Federal Court has reproached a State employment tribunal member for his tardiness in determining appropriate penalties for an underpaying employer, suggesting that had no fine been imposed it might have been spared considering an unremarkable appeal involving "modest" sums.
A McDonald's franchise that says it can otherwise stop workers from going to the toilet if it provides a 10-minute paid break contained in their agreement has told a court that Queensland's WHS Act does not entitle employees "to be protected from cruel and inhumane working conditions".
RAFFWU is suing a McDonald's franchise that allegedly required workers to find a replacement if they took sick leave, told them they had to call in sick by 10pm the night before scheduled shifts and denied them proper breaks.
The Federal Circuit Court has warned compliance order recipients that they should have "no misapprehension about their obligations to comply" after fining an employer that underpaid workers $9,000 on top of the original penalty. Meanwhile, the regulator is pursuing an accountancy firm that was allegedly involved in an employer's underpayments
The NSW Business Chamber has formally applied for the Fair Work Commission to introduce new rules in modern awards covering more than 500,000 micro businesses that employ fewer than five workers.
