In a significant decision on diplomatic immunity, a full Federal Court has tossed out an embassy's claim that it enjoys protection from unfair dismissal proceedings, confirming in the process that the FWC has standing as a "court" under the relevant legislation.
A Melbourne Water employee's challenge to his sacking has backfired after a court rejected his contract-breach case and ordered him to repay $12,000 in "reverse-engineered" car mileage claims.
Industry super fund Cbus has been hit with a $23.5 million penalty for delaying payment of death benefits and total and permanent disability claims to thousands of members.
Racing Victoria has failed to persuade the FWC to hold off considering its chief veterinarian's claims that it pressured her to declare horses fit to race, a member noting that while the case had "substantial overlap" with an adverse action matter initiated in the Federal Court, they would move at different paces and address different questions.
A court has backed Ernst & Young's ousting of a senior partner charged with assault over a bar confrontation, while on a warning for allegedly telling a colleague at a Christmas party he wanted to sleep with her and that most of his affairs were with married women.
A government department has won an appeal against a finding that a QNMU delegate's decision to send confidential patient information to her home email during a dispute with her unit manager did not constitute misconduct because she did not "deliberately" breach accepted standards.
BHP's in-house labour hire company has been fined $15,000 and ordered to pay 85 production employees between $800 and $2400 each in compensation for unreasonably requiring them to work across Christmas holidays.
A FWC presidential member has recused himself from re-hearing an agreement variation case after observing that a bystander, "recognising human frailty", might appreciate his disinclination to reach different conclusions based on the same set of facts.
A "high-stakes" case set to test whether State workplace protections extend to independent contractors under the Fair Work Act has been set down for a three-week trial beginning in May, after Federal Court Chief Justice Debra Mortimer agreed that having enough time to assess witnesses is "critical" in such proceedings.
