Key Points:
Adverse action under the Fair Work Act has a potentially
very wide application.
The "adverse action" jurisdiction is certainly living
up to being a sleeper part of the Fair Work Act 2009.
While there have only been a handful of cases dealing with adverse
action, there is increasing clarity on what this all means for
employers in managing risk in the workplace and especially, given
its potentially broad application to issues arising in the
industrial context, to discrimination matters.
The Federal Court's recent decision in Construction,
Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v BHP Coal Pty Ltd [2010]
FCA 590 will be of interest to employers as it illustrates the
potentially broad nature of the adverse action jurisdiction and its
implications for workplace processes and decision-making.
