A landmark contempt finding and accompanying jail sentence hailed as proof of the FWO's commitment to justice has been overturned by a full Federal Court that found the ruling judge's "open" hostility to the underpaying employer compromised his ability to consider the evidence.
In a decision vindicating the FWO's resistance to the grouping of multiple contraventions for the purpose of setting penalties, the workplace watchdog has won a fivefold increase in fines imposed on an underpaying company director.
Labor has pledged to immediately increase the minimum wage for skilled overseas visa workers to $65,000 - a rise of almost 21% - if it wins the Federal election
The CFMMEU will this week seek to intervene in a class action pursuing leave entitlements for thousands of Workpac's on-hire casual black coal mine workers, at a hearing expected to also deal with the company's bid to block another casual, Robert Rossato, from winning entitlements.
As United Voice seeks to quash a 2007 "zombie" agreement at Justin Hemmes' Merivale hospitality company on the basis that workers would be better off under the award, the FWO says it found no "non-compliance issues" when it audited the company in May.
As the FSU and Travel Money Oz head to conciliation next Thursday over claims that the currency exchange business owes workers for unpaid overtime including attendance at "buzz nights", the parties are already at loggerheads over award coverage.
An asylum seeker allegedly sacked after complaining about his pay for 91-hour weeks as a Woolworths trolley collector has been allowed to file a late adverse action claim, the FWC finding his application had "considerable merit".
In a significant win for FWO efforts to extend liability to advisors involved in underpayments, a Full Federal Court has today dismissed an accountancy firm's appeal against penalties imposed last year for failing to ensure a client met its award obligations.
Security giant Wilson is within its rights to avoid paying penalty rates to security guards by allocating their overtime to Sundays, the Federal Court has ruled.
A restaurant that required a chef to work more than 20 unpaid hours a week and summarily sacked him when he sought to pare it back and take leave was "blissfully unaware" of its award obligations, the FWC has found.