Major construction company Laing O'Rourke has failed to convince the FWC that a current agreement clause could effectively render its NSW and ACT deals compliant with the building code, but the tribunal has recommended that the CFMEU and employees take all necessary steps to achieve compliance.
A full Federal Court has fined the CFMEU $300,000 and the CEPU $130,000 over a 2011 industrial campaign; penalties that are almost three times higher than originally sought by the construction watchdog.
The Federal Court has overturned an $800,000 costs order against the Fair Work Ombudsman, after finding that a Federal Circuit Court judge was wrong to find the watchdog's unreasonable acts or omissions partially responsible for two company directors incurring unreasonable legal expenses.
The Federal Court has refused to issue CFMEU organiser Drew MacDonald a certificate protecting him from self-incrimination in proceedings brought by the ABCC over alleged unprotected action.
A Senate inquiry's largely bipartisan support for the Turnbull Government's Protecting Vulnerable Workers Bill is a "striking indication" of how far the debate on the issue has advanced, according to Adelaide University Professor of Law, Andrew Stewart.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has dropped its prosecution of the MUA and seven seafarers, because the FWC's order for them to cease industrial action is likely to be invalid.
An accountancy firm that knowingly failed to maintain current award rates of pay in its MYOB payroll system has been found accessorially liable for an employer's underpayments.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says low penalties are creating a "perverse incentive" for a "dangerous minority" of employers to use inaccurate or incomplete records to conceal underpayments, forcing the watchdog to use novel, labour-intensive strategies to piece together employees' working hours.
