A tribunal has penalised the operator of a string of Adelaide massage parlours who said he refused to keep records and provide pay slips because he was "too busy and lazy".
The Federal Circuit Court has levelled a $75,000 fine and is expected to order more than $25,000 in compensation against the director of a liquidated supermarkets enterprise who withheld about $450,000 in union dues, superannuation and Easter rates from more than 200 employees.
In a decision further clarifying when and to what extent lawyers can become involved in FWC cases, the Commission says its rules do not stop parties seeking legal advice in the lead-up to hearings.
The SA Labor Party has pledged to criminalise wage theft if it retains power at the state election on March 17, with the worst repeat offenders facing jail terms of up to 15 years.
RBA Governor Philip Lowe is maintaining his faith that the laws of supply and demand will eventually lead to higher wages, but has conceded that the low growth in pay is a global phenomenon that is troubling central banks and "no-one really knows how long it is going to last".
A court will next month decide whether to punish a former Toll employee after finding that he breached orders restraining him from publishing far-right nationalist videos in which he wears company-branded clothing.
As independent federal MP Cathy McGowan vows to push for a new ministerial sex ban to be extended to all those working in Parliament, an IR lawyer says the approach has little practical use in the private sector where the focus is on disclosure.
In a ruling as to what constitutes "physical effort", a court has found that opening or removing curtains and straps securing a truck's load did not qualify a driver for an extra allowance under a transport industry award.
The aviation services company Aerocare is pushing ahead with a hotly-contested application in the Federal Court to overturn the Fair Work Commission's rejection of a proposed new enterprise agreement.
A roulette supervisor has failed to challenge the rejection of her claim that a casino's failure to offer overtime amounted to constructive dismissal, but a full Federal Court has quashed a $30,000 costs order against her after finding it was not unreasonable to ignore a $7000 settlement offer.
