Employment

Ashurst has lured the founding partner of McCullough Robertson’s employment and safety practice to expand its risk advisory offering amid increased regulation in the space.

MACH Energy has hit back at a lawsuit by mining executive Nathan Tinkler’s companies that alleges a former general manager misused confidential information to help MACH buy the lucrative Mount Pleasant coal mine.

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. 

The fees of a class action firm found to have breached cost disclosure rules in running two underpayments class actions against supermarket chain Romeo’s have been adjusted up, after $260,000 was initially cut from the bill by the Federal Court.

The Finance Sector Union has launched a test case against National Australia Bank on behalf of four managers who were allegedly required to work “unreasonable” unpaid hours for years and has warned it will go after the other big banks next.

A judge has rejected a bid by Independent Monique Ryan’s chief of staff Sally Rugg to keep her job until her “hotly contested” suit against the MP is resolved, saying she was “far from persuaded” that Rugg actually wants to return to work.

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.

The Albanese government will urge the court to shut down a Shine Lawyers-led class action against McDonald’s for allegedly denying workers rest breaks and allow a similar $250 million case by the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association to proceed instead.

A judge has declined a bid by former United Petroleum franchisees to stay two Federal Court proceedings in light of a class action against the petrol giant over the introduction of loss-making Pie Face stores, finding the suits have little in common.