The Queensland Labor government has introduced legislation to criminalise wage theft and to establish a small claims process in the State courts which has conciliation as a first step.
The Victorian government's landmark inquiry into the on-demand workforce recommends codifying work status in the Fair Work Act rather than relying on "indistinct" common law tests, as well as relaxing laws to enable those engaged in the gig economy to bargain collectively.
A senior FWC member has declined to recuse himself from hearing an unfair dismissal case brought by a disbarred lawyer who accused him of "blatant bias" and having a "sweet little racket" bullying unrepresented workers.
The FWC has upheld Essential Energy's dismissal of a whistleblowing risk manager deemed unable to perform her job's inherent requirements after suffering PTSD and taking extended leave following a finding that she breached its code of conduct.
In a coronavirus-driven strategy shift, the Fair Work Ombudsman will temporarily consider the "impact on viability" when deciding whether to prosecute employers, but has stressed it will still require underpayments to be made good.
Melbourne's coronavirus outbreak and resultant six-week lockdown has torpedoed plans for the Federal Court to conduct a physical hearing of a general protections matter.
Procedural flaws in a worker's summary dismissal on Melbourne Cup day did not outweigh the seriousness of having invited the theft of a company vehicle by leaving the keys in the ignition, the FWC has found.
An FWC presidential member has taken a swipe at a "misleading" state government website for wrongly convincing a public servant that the federal tribunal was the right forum in which to contest her dismissal.
The FWC has agreed to hear a senior public sector lawyer's claims he was denied pay rises after being "admonished" for wearing Zara brand shoes, despite a court finding his employer conducted two procedurally fair investigations before sacking him for misconduct.
