Siobhan Kelly

A judge has declined a union’s bid to throw out an employee class action against McDonald’s after the Full Federal Court confirmed that employee class actions are not precluded by the Fair Work Act. 

With bated breath class action litigators and funders have waited for this day, when the Full Federal Court decides the question of power to make common fund orders at settlement. They aren’t the final arbiters, but the judges’ ruling may be no less important for that.

The question of whether judges have the power to hear employment cases as representative proceedings is headed to the Full Court after a union raised the issue as it battles to have its underpayments case against McDonald’s run instead of a Shine Lawyers class action.

A judge is weighing up a law firm’s high legal costs against a union’s “bizarre” delay in a stoush over who should run a case against McDonald’s alleging 100,000 workers were denied rest breaks. 

Two judges on the Full Court bench hearing arguments over power to make common fund orders when approving class action settlements appeared to tip their hand on Monday, chipping away at a High Court judgment that has sowed deep division.

Network Ten has fired back at journalist Tegan George’s reworked sex discrimination case, claiming that its alleged failure to prevent a “sexually hostile, demeaning and oppressive” culture was not unlawful under the Fair Work Act.

Journalist Tegan George has reworked her sex discrimination case against Network Ten, claiming the Canberra bureau had a culture that was “sexually hostile, demeaning and oppressive”.

A judge has slammed Domino’s for its “entirely unsatisfactory” opening submissions in an underpayments class action, warning the pizza giant not to hide arguments and evidence up its sleeve.

A judge has found that the University of Sydney unlawfully terminated the employment of a political economy lecturer who was fired for conduct that included showing students a slide of a Nazi swastika superimposed on the Israeli flag.

Airservices Australia has succeeded in overturning a “manifestly unreasonable” $72,450 fine, but otherwise failed in its appeal of a decision which found it breached an enterprise agreement by withdrawing guidelines for standby shifts for air traffic controllers.