A judge has expressed concern that a “bizarre” last-minute settlement in a long-running case against the CFMEU could damage the public perception of the FWO as a model litigant, saying it could appear that the ombudsman treated some perpetrators as “more equal” than others.
The collapsed companies behind dumpling chain Din Tai Fung have been hit with over $3.8 million in penalties after a judge found they engaged in a “a calculated scheme to rob employees of their hard-earned wages and deceive the authorities”.
Convenience store operator On The Run will backpay $2.3 million in annual leave entitlements to 1,524 full and part-time employees — mostly console operators and roadhouse attendants working in South Australia.
A judge has slapped the University of Melbourne with a $74,590 penalty for taking adverse action against two casual academics to prevent them from claiming payment for extra hours worked.
A Sydney law firm and its principal have been fined $14,400 for disobeying a Fair Work Ombudsman compliance notice issued for the alleged underpayment of a paralegal, with a judge saying the lawyer’s belief she did not owe any wages was “unreasoned and unreasonable”.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has won its underpayments case against restaurant chain Sushi Bay and its director, with a judge finding the company forced migrant workers to pay back their entitlements in cash in a “calculated and institutional effort” to conceal wrongdoing.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has brought proceedings against three United Petroleum-branded outlets in Tasmania and South Australia, alleging they underpaid migrant workers by more than $26,000.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has taken the University of New South Wales to court, alleging its record keeping practices were “so inadequate” that it was difficult to identify whether employees were underpaid.
The Australian arm of coffee giant Starbucks has backpaid part-time workers across 52 stores $4.5 million, after discovering it failed to pay proper overtime rates.
CBA should pay a penalty of $12.8 million — close to the maximum penalty the court can impose on the bank — for underpaying its staff to the tune of $16.4 million, a judge has heard.