An accounting firm that knowingly misled a Fair Work Inspector investigating its exploitative cashback scheme has been ordered to pay total penalties of $177,000 by the Federal Circuit and Family Court.
The Federal Court has pushed FWC general manager Murray Furlong's prosecution of Diana Asmar back to next month and asked to her to provide a neurologist's report to ascertain whether she "is capable of managing her own affairs in the proceeding".
The Human Rights Commission is holding six formal inquiries into employers' conduct to examine whether they are complying with the positive duty to eliminate s-xual harassment and is monitoring another 18, while it has received 143 complaints of positive duty breaches since December 2023, according to the s-x discrimination commissioner.
CFMEU construction division administrator Mark Irving last year "counselled" then Victorian branch secretary Zach Smith for his "serious error of judgement" in permitting an organiser to meet with underworld figure and "fixer" Mick Gatto, after FWC general manager raised concerns.
The Victorian Government has passed laws to strengthen the ability of the State's Labour Hire Authority to prevent people with links to criminal organisations from operating labour hire businesses, and to empower the State IR inspectorate to receive complaints about the building industry.
The gender pay gap has narrowed by 0.7 percentage points to 21.1% over the past 12 months, driven by a larger increase in women's average base salary (up $3,419 or 4%) than achieved by men ($2,895 or 2.8%), the annual WGEA Gender Equality Scorecard reveals.
The implications of the Federal Court's retail underpayments decision are only starting to be understood, with employment law academic Andrew Stewart warning of the significent consequences of its redefinition of employer record-keeping obligations and findings on proving workers' agreement to vary award conditions.
The workplace watchdog's power to hold franchisors to account for franchisees' underpayments has been bolstered, after a full Federal Court today threw out a challenge by the Bakers Delight chain.
Victoria's Allan Labor Government has introduced a Bill to boost the ability of the State's Labour Hire Authority to prevent people with links to criminal organisations from operating labour hire businesses and to make it a criminal offence to retaliate against those who speak out.
