The FWC has upheld a recruitment company's dismissal of a consultant who refused, as the coronavirus pandemic escalated in early March, to complete a survey about his recent history of travel to destinations with moderate to high COVID-19 risks.
NSW Health must compensate a registered nurse for lost shift penalties and refrain from rostering her on morning and night shifts after a tribunal found it indirectly discriminated against her on the basis of her hearing impairment.
The FWC has reinstated a rail worker sacked for coming to work the day after he smoked his first joint in 30 years and has taken Sydney Trains to task over its purported zero tolerance for drugs.
The FWC has upheld the sacking of a Sydney Harbour ferry master who fell asleep while in control of his vessel after taking an over-the-counter cough mixture.
Professionals Australia has filed a $380,000 discrimination and adverse action claim against one of the nation's largest defence contractors, alleging it unlawfully sacked a manager after nearly 20 years' service because he suffers from multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.
A multinational "people flow" company can require a tradesperson with severe claustrophobia to transfer from an escalator repair team to an elevator repair team, the FWC has found, while cautioning that its approach to accommodating his condition would be considered if he returned with an unfair dismissal claim.
The FWC has confirmed the right of employers in safety-critical industries to dismiss workers whose out-of-hours conduct impairs the safe performance of their duties, in the case of a flight attendant who called in sick during a layover after being hospitalised with a blood-alcohol reading of .205.
The FWC has rejected a dismissed employee's contention that a company's duty of care extended to anticipating that he would act in a violent and threatening manner towards a co-worker.
The FWC has extended time for a BHP joint venture mineworker to lodge a general protections claim challenging his sacking over a failed drug test, but has agreed there is "great weight" to the employer's view that it is essentially an unfair dismissal application in disguise.
The FWC has highlighted the additional credibility provided when employers test for drugs in accordance with the Australian Standard, in upholding a multinational mining company's sacking of a marijuana smoker who breached its zero tolerance policy.
