A Federal Court judge, after identifying conflicting case law on how to assess employers' motives, has concluded that the ATO did not sack an auditor for complaining about "defamatory" claims that he told colleagues during office drinks that he would "f--k" his manager to get a promotion.
In findings unlikely to get a good reception in Canberra, the Productivity Commission has come down firmly against the federal government adopting a policy of preferring direct employment in the aged care sector.
The FWC has tossed out an unfair dismissal claim from a government lawyer responsible for overseeing safe workplaces, finding he fully understood the seriousness of "wilfully and persistently" refusing to confirm his COVID-19 vaccination status.
The RTBU says an "unprecedented" NSW Government court case claiming that deactivating Opal card readers at Sydney train stations is not protected action and seeking to recoup lost revenue will force it to revert to disruptive strikes, as the union files its own court action in response.
The Federal Court has again rounded on class action cost estimates provided by Adero Law, this time rejecting submissions that it took 180 hours to prepare pleadings in its pursuit of the Drakes supermarket chain and suggesting that it might have breached the Legal Profession Act.
A Federal Court majority has slashed by more than 65% penalties imposed on a government-owned organisation for breaching agreement obligations, finding them "manifestly excessive".
Weeks after the CFMMEU's mining and energy division borrowed from the ABCC's playbook to argue for its demerger from the broader union, the latter has returned fire in similar terms, suggesting the division is hardly on the side of the angels itself.
The FWC has expanded on its reasons for rejecting an employer's request to terminate its own lock-out of workers so they could no longer take threatened industrial action, describing the "highly unusual" s424 application as inconsistent with the Fair Work Act's bargaining objectives.
The Senate Work and Care inquiry's Labor and Greens majority is urging the Albanese Government to move swiftly to consider a right to disconnect, make flexibility requests an enforceable right and provide "roster justice" by ensuring workers with variable hours have predictability and certainty, in a 152-page interim report tabled this afternoon.
A FWC full bench has marked the conclusion of the eight-year-long review of modern awards by seeking to rebut persistent claims that they are too complex for employers, observing that while "unpacking" clauses might add to their length, it has also provided greater clarity.
