Browsing: Jurisdiction (WA) | Page 4

• Senate unites against deadly workplace hazard; and
  
• Another state commits to WHS stone ban.

Lawyers have urged companies to keep on top of emerging evidence on the effects of medicinal cannabis on workers and testing regimes, outlining a wide range of challenges in this area. Meanwhile, Victorian stakeholders have just weeks left to contribute to a parliamentary inquiry into workplace drug tests.

An employer drove a pregnant worker to resign with its persistent and unreasonable insistence that she had to attend an independent medical examination (IME) before it could provide her with a "safe job", a commission has found, paving the way for her to seek an unfair dismissal remedy.

• Employer fined $551k over rock fall and hazardous rescue;
  
• SafeWork discusses Qantas case, targets high-risk sector; and
  
• New ASEA chief to have broader role.

Two employers have been fined a total of nearly $300,000 over machine entrapment incidents, including a major company that failed to assess the competency of its workers in safety procedures.

• Workplace harassment bystanders advised to take four steps; and
  
• WHS exemption applied to WA mines, department changes name.

A company that uses 3D modelling and motion sensors to better manage work tasks and prevent musculoskeletal disorders has been handed a major safety prize.

Australia has taken a big leap towards banning engineered stone products, with the country's WHS ministers agreeing to release a "powerful and compelling" Safe Work Australia report that recommends the ban, and warns there is no evidence that alternative measures can curb the alarming rate of silicosis in engineered stone workers.

• Weak exclusion-zone controls increased fumes risk; and
  
• WHS exemption applied and Code remade in WA.

A court has rejected a CEO's claim that her employer engaged in a "witch hunt" to find reasons to sack her because she raised safety concerns at a board meeting. It also found that requiring her to obtain a medical certificate to show she was fit for work after she disclosed mental health issues did not constitute adverse action.