Bodies like the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) should be able to prosecute employers for workplace discrimination without the alleged victims pursuing the case, the OECD has suggested in its Employment Outlook 2008 report released today.
In what is believed to be an unprecedented ruling, a tribunal has found a childcare provider unlawfully discriminated on the basis of age when it required a parent to pay fees based on the age of their child rather than the intensity of care required.
A tribunal has awarded $2500 for hurt and humiliation and $7900 in damages to a pregnant employee dismissed for alleged poor performance and excessive sick leave absences just weeks before she became eligible for 12 months unpaid maternity leave.
Government names three new Federal Court judges; Building unions' ABCC campaign "historic", says Noonan; Tax cuts, childcare rebate increases take effect today; New AWU WA leader to organise in civil construction, mining; Federal Discrimination Law 2008 now available; Coalition Senate majority did more than pass work Choices, says Minchin; Government releases training places; Dolan continues as Comcare head; and Reforms to Commonwealth purchase of legal services commence.
Employers would not be able to use 457 visa workers as strike-breakers or to influence enterprise bargaining and would have to pay the visa holders' full recruitment and travel costs under options included in a Federal Government discussion paper.
A worker sacked for purported genuine operational reasons was in fact ousted for successfully pursuing bullying and harassment allegations against his manager, the AIRC has found.
AIRC reinstates Rail Corp employee sacked over outburst; Court refuses injunction to keep worker with post-polio syndrome in APS; Worker denied interview for promotion allowed to make age bias, victimisation claims; and Worker given another chance to plead age bias case against Schering.
Repayments on a HECS-style loan scheme for extending paid parental leave could be shared by parents and employers to provide an incentive for mothers to return to their job, according to a CEDA-commissioned research paper released today.
Fears of a wages breakout are likely to be soothed by the DEWRR's latest data on pay rises under federal enterprise agreements, which show they dipped slightly to 3.7% a year in the private sector in the March quarter, largely as a result of modest increases in a major retail deal. Pay rises in non-union deals also overtook those in union deals, while rises in WA were well ahead of other states.
