State Labor governments are arguing their wage theft laws can co-exist with federal underpayment laws, risking the prospect of multiple criminal regimes as the Albanese government pushes to introduce its own jail time for underpayments.
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke introducing the 284-page Closing Loopholes Bill.Business is concerned the states’ intervention in the case threatens to expose employers to competing layers of penalties if the Albanese government also passes its Closing Loophole Bill, which will introduce up to 10-years jail time for wage theft.
“It should be clear that any new federal wage theft criminal offence should expressly override all comparable state offences.” The High Court challenge, brought by Victoria’s Macedon Lounge restaurant, will test whether the state wage theft laws are consistent with the current Fair Work Act but could also have implications for the federal bill.Both Queensland and Victoria’s attorneys-general told the court this month the state laws’ main purpose was not enforcing employment terms but “to stigmatise and denounce certain conduct – being the dishonest withholding of employee entitlements”.
A report late last year by left-leaning McKell Institute Victoria argued federal wage theft laws “should co-exist” with state and territory laws as “more than one option for seeking justice can be a positive”.