A worker was advised by her doctor that it was potentially unsafe for her to receive an influenza vaccination, but her aged care employer acted fairly and reasonably in dismissing her for not getting the jab, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
A company director who successfully overturned his fatality-related reckless conduct conviction and jailing has, along with his brother and two businesses, been fined over a similar WHS incident to the one that resulted in the death.
A company director who failed to ensure his organisation provided fall prevention measures to height workers has become the third entity to be fined over a five-metre fall, while a regulator has expressed frustration after yet another employer was fined for forklift-related breaches.
The jailing of a business owner for industrial manslaughter, the commencement of a mirror WHS Act, legislative changes across most jurisdictions, and a host of judgments on work-related COVID matters, are just some of the issues covered by OHS Alert's first major review report of the year.
A commission has thrown out a worker's out-of-time challenge of her employer's refusal to exempt her from a COVID-19 vaccination directive. She claimed she couldn't have a vaccine because of her religious beliefs against abortion and other issues.
A commissioner has ordered the reinstatement of a worker who was sacked for allegedly unsafely "enforcing" a COVID-19 mask mandate, and breaching conflict de-escalation procedures, by asking a customer to put on his mask properly.
Personal protective equipment poses "hidden" psychological risks for workers, and the COVID-19 pandemic has provided an invaluable opportunity to properly examine these hazards, Australian researchers say.
Workers can hold different but equally valid opinions on serious safety issues and disagreeing on them does "not automatically convert" a safety complainer into an "industrial whistle blower", a judge has said in dismissing a worker's claim he was unlawfully sacked for raising WHS concerns.