The Fair Work Ombudsman has made scant use of new powers it won three years ago to conduct compulsory interviews and to prosecute franchisors to help to protect vulnerable workers.
A 61-year-old former economics professor has been fined $31,000 for underpaying two visa holders employed at a Korean grocery, a court finding he deliberately arranged for them to receive as little as $10 an hour.
A major convenience chain operator slugged with almost $65,000 in penalties for the "brazen", "deliberate exploitation" of a console operator has hit back at a $70 million class action, denying claims and citing a lead applicant's alleged behavioural issues.
The National Library of Australia has avoided becoming the second federal public body forced to make a "contrition payment" to the FWO, after admitting to underpaying casual employees almost $250,000 over two decades.
An accountancy firm that created and gave the FWO false records covering up a massage parlour's underpayments must pay more per breach than the family-run employer, which has been fined about 10% of the penalties sought by the workplace watchdog.
The FWO is urging 7-Eleven to enter into a second compliance deed, following "substantial improvements" to payroll and time-recording systems and audits leading to backpayments of more than $102,000 under its first arrangement.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has asked for a Senate inquiry to "exercise its discretion" in keeping confidential a list of self-reported major corporate underpayments.
Forty-eight former Macquarie Bank wealth advisors have been awarded compensation totalling more than $1.3 million despite a judge describing as "rapacious" their claims about underpayment of various leave entitlements.
