Against a backdrop of an industrial relations system which has diminished union and workers’ power, class actions are again re-emerging as an alternative tool to challenge employers’ unlawful conduct. And in the current class actions landscape, the ability to run closed class proceedings on behalf of union members, or otherwise offer alternative fee arrangements to non-members in open class proceedings, is essential to trade unions’ willingness to embrace the representative proceeding regime, writes Slater & Gordon lawyer Alex Blennerhassett.
The National Tertiary Education Union has asked a court for permission to intervene in support of sacked physics professor and climate skeptic Peter Ridd as he fights James Cook University’s appeal of a $1.2 million judgment against it.
United Petroleum has been hit with legal action by the Fair Work Ombudsman, which accuses the petrol retailer of failing to produce records as part of an investigation of workplace breaches.
Former Wallabies star Israel Folau offered to make a public apology for a homophobic social media slur that got him fired, a court has been told.
Fifteen former Macquarie Bank financial advisers are looking to expand their $2.6 million wages case against the bank, seeking evidence around allegedly unreasonable and unlawful deductions from their commissions.
Retail chain Sunglass Hut has agreed to backpay 620 workers almost $2.3 million after admitting it underpaid its part-time staff in stores across Australia for six years.
A major property development CEO accused of paying his Filipino nanny $2.33 an hour has denied underpayment allegations, instead claiming the woman was a “guest of the family” who was “free to decide” whether or not she wished to provide domestic assistance.
The judge overseeing competing employment class actions on behalf of casual coal miners against WorkPac has ordered the law firms running the cases to consider a proposal to jointly run the proceedings.
A former BlueScope global health and safety manager wants to add an indirect gender discrimination claim to his employment case against the steel giant, alleging he was overlooked for a senior role because the company wanted to fill its diversity quota.
James Cook University has followed through on its promise to appeal a $1.2 million judgment awarded against it for the unfair dismissal of physics professor and climate skeptic Peter Ridd.