The NSW Dust Diseases Tribunal has awarded a mesothelioma sufferer $350,000 in general damages, effectively increasing the maximum level of such damages by more than 20 per cent.
A NSW employer has successfully defended an OHS charge, after the District Court found its failure to document a risk assessment didn't constitute a breach. Also in this article, a man has been fined under the new national maritime safety laws - for jumping ship.
Determining whether injuries sustained by a worker during a work trip are compensable "used to be very easy" - until the motel-s-x case, says Lander and Rogers special counsel Rachel Cubela.
The Federal Government's termination of Safe Work Australia member grants will diminish the ability of unions and employer groups to improve workplace safety, a Labor Senator has warned. Meanwhile, the Coalition's plan to amend the new anti-bullying laws has been omitted from it first tranche of Fair Work changes, introduced yesterday.
A high proportion of the 70-odd workers who have applied for stop-bullying orders so far claim they are being bullied by their supervisors, but the Fair Work Act's broad definition of "reasonable management action" could thwart many of these claims, according to FW Commissioner Anna Lee Cribb.
The link between obesity and work absences is well established, but a German study has found lost-productivity costs associated with obesity are "formidable", with obese employees taking 88 per cent more sick days than "normal-weight" workers.
Employers should ensure any PPE they buy is certified under Australian Standards, but this isn't as straightforward as it seems, says SAI Global's health and safety product services team leader.
Employers are being urged to look beyond "soft" risk management barriers to prevent the interaction of light vehicles and heavy machinery at worksites, after a mine worker's ute was crushed by a 100-tonne dozer.
Workers who apply to the Fair Work Commission for a stop-bullying order cannot claim they were "bullied at work" prior to 1 January 2014, because the anti-bullying laws didn't apply at the time, the Australian Industry Group will argue in a test case today.
Employers aren't required to conduct weekly physical inspections of non-slip strips on stairs, the Western Australian Court of Appeal has ruled in rejecting an injured worker's damages claim.
