Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied that the adverse action case initiated by the former chief-of-staff to Independent Federal MP Monique Ryan prompted more funding for electorate staff in the Federal Budget.
A judge has overcome his irritation at being asked to rule on an "arid debate" to find the now-defunct ABCC did not exceed its powers when it initiated its first case against the CFMMEU's maritime division over alleged death threats against workers attempting to cross a picket line.
A Federal Court majority has today dealt a hammer blow to NSW's and Victoria's pursuit of employers alleged to have avoided long service leave entitlements to casuals, ruling that a tribunal's reading of the Fair Work Act's LSL provision produced an "absurdity" whereby employers received "no warning" they could be held criminally liable for supposed non-payments.
The Federal Court is continuing to order CFMMEU officials to pay penalties out of their own pockets, rejecting arguments that two first offenders and one organiser no longer employed by the union should have their fines suspended.
A dumpling chain's HR manager was knowingly concerned in its Fair Work Act contraventions and "did not simply act as a conduit", the Federal Court has held in a liability judgment, finding she also instructed and trained a colleague in a payroll scam using both accurate and inaccurate records.
A full Federal Court has more than halved fines imposed on the CFMMEU for picketing a crane company over a sacked delegate, while also binning orders requiring the delegate to personally pay a $3500 penalty despite it not being part of the case against him.
Australian workplace laws have a "legislative preference" for registered unions to act as a "specific vehicle" for workers seeking to enforce their rights under industrial instruments, the Federal Court has heard.
A judge has blasted a company's request for no penalty for flouting IR laws, describing it as "one of the most extraordinary submissions, if not the most extraordinary submission" on fines he had heard in more than 15 years.
Shine Lawyers claims IR Minister Tony Burke has made "incorrect factual and legal assertions" about a RAFFWU-backed McDonald's class action in which he is seeking to intervene to explain why a competing SDA class action is "the one that should be allowed to proceed".
