In a rare "assumed disability" discrimination case that has exposed legislative shortcomings, a tribunal has awarded $20,000 to a public servant forced to take sick leave over concerns about her enthusiasm for conspiracy theories.
A tribunal has thrown out a union official's claim he was discriminated against on the basis of his psychological condition and industrial activity, instead finding that his dismissal after five months off work followed an "impossible" demand for assurances he wouldn't be sacked for outstanding disciplinary matters.
In a decision sure to be closely analysed by employers, a court has ruled that a worker is entitled to accrued annual leave despite being paid a casual loading for 15 years.
The Federal Circuit Court has rejected the adverse action claim of an obese security officer who accused his employer of unfairly targeting him, transferring him to a position he physically could not perform in another city and then sacking him because he challenged a proposed enterprise agreement.
A tribunal has found Victoria's justice department indirectly discriminated against a prison worker who failed to declare his diabetes on engagement when its requirement to work unreasonable hours to meet a greater workload made his condition unstable.
A company that allegedly told a 62-year old salesperson that he was too old, too deaf and was "hobbling around" with a "broken back" he would use to make a workers compensation claim has been ordered to pay $15,000 for "pain, suffering and humiliation" as part of a larger damages payout for age and disability discrimination.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has agreed to enter into mediation with an employee who accuses it of taking adverse action by suspending and demoting her and directing her to take indefinite leave following a long absence for cancer treatment and surgery.
The FWC has reinstated a nurse dismissed while recovering from a serious car accident and a work-related needle-stick injury, expressing "dismay" at the hospital's failure to inquire about her ability to return to her previous role.
A court has rejected an employee's claim that his former employer breached disability discrimination legislation when it failed to offer redundancy or redeploy him after he sustained an injury at work.
An FWC full bench majority has thrown out a a company's challenge to a decision requiring it to reinstate an injured worker to his previous role and ensure he receives "work hardening".
