The Queensland Law Reform Commission will examine the need to strengthen legislation around the use of surveillance devices and technologies in the public sphere and the workplace.
The MEAA has called for the ACCC to block the proposed merger of the Nine Network with Fairfax Media on public interest grounds, while demanding the retention of employees' terms and conditions as the new entity seeks $50 million in savings.
Evidence of workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination at five NSW emergency services agencies "shocked" a NSW parliamentary committee, which has called for the establishment of an independent external body to oversee complaints management.
In a rare "assumed disability" discrimination case that has exposed legislative shortcomings, a tribunal has awarded $20,000 to a public servant forced to take sick leave over concerns about her enthusiasm for conspiracy theories.
In a decision confirming that employers must "expressly" advise workers when their job is at risk and provide them enough time to demonstrate improvement, an FWC full bench has quashed a finding that a bike shop complied with the Small Business Unfair Dismissal Code when sacking one of its mechanics.
The FWC will next week respond to reports urging it to speed up and reduce the cost to employers of unfair dismissal and adverse action claims, with a new small business division being held out as a chance to weed out "frequent flyers" pursuing applications of dubious merit.
A Victorian parliamentary inquiry has called for a legislated roll-back of cuts to penalty rates in the retail, hospitality and pharmacy industries, rather than a process of take-home pay orders issued by the Fair Work Commission.
In a ruling that builds on the recent "shadow lawyers" decision, an FWC full bench has found that a large company with in-house IR legal expertise does not require approval to engage a law firm to prepare its defence of a self-represented worker's dismissal claim.
