Safe Work Australia's deemed diseases list has been amended to add two cancer and job exposure pairs, and to remove COVID-19, on the basis that the virus "has become so widespread in the community that infection in a particular occupational setting cannot be confidently assumed to have been due to that occupation".
Lifestyle changes brought by the shift to working from home are causing the health of many workers to deteriorate, likely through the reduction of the physical effort involved in commuting, and increased snacking, a study of nearly 4,000 workers shows.
In a case examining PCBUs' disclosure obligations, a tribunal has rejected a request for risk assessments and other documents by four workers, who claimed they were the victims of WHS discrimination relating to their employer's COVID-19 vaccination policy.
An appeals bench has upheld a finding that a worker's failure to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine while she was injured amounted to a breach of her return-to-work duties and warranted her benefits being cut.
An appeals commission has upheld a decision in favour of a worker who suffered a psychological injury from her employer's initial communications on a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. It rejected the employer's reasonable disciplinary action defence on the basis that the worker was injured before this action occurred.
Increasing conflict between workers and employers, over getting teams back into the office, means it is more important than ever for organisations to invest in "happy" workplaces, a workplace change specialist says.
A sacked worker has unsuccessfully claimed her employer breached safety laws by failing to conduct a risk assessment for a COVID-19 vaccine rule, and that her role wasn't covered by a government vaccine mandate.
A court has granted a worker leave to pursue damages for long COVID resulting from a work-related infection, rejecting submissions that her various symptoms needed to be assessed separately and none of them were serious.