This is a publication of Shine Lawyers for the purpose of investigating legal action against McDonald’s. It is not sourced from or endorsed by McDonald’s. Are you getting your full paid 10 minute break? Visit shine.com.au/mcdonalds or phone 1800 325 172 McDonald’s Employee? If not, stand up for your rights. Join Shine Lawyers’ class action today. On 12 October 2023 the Federal Court of Australia handed down two important and eagerly anticipated judgements dealing with the SDA attempt to stop the Shine Lawyers McDonald’s Class Action, which is supported by RAFFWU. This important win means the action can now move forward with the important case affecting over 300,000 current and former McDonald’s workers. The judgement exposed SDA had known about the practice of denying breaks for years and done nothing of use when it mattered: FEDERAL COURT EXPOSES SDA IN MCDONALD'S CLASS ACTION DOMINO'S CLASS ACTION DECISION IMMINENT The long running Domino’s class action was heard in November 2022 and the decision is expected soon. RAFFWU exposed that rotten old zombie SDA deals were inflicted upon over 50,000 workers for years costing them a fortune. Delivery drivers were not paid casual loading, penalty rates or proper delivery allowance – and had shifts cut to just 2 hours too. Every worker who worked at a Domino’s Pizza franchise between June 2013 and January 2018 should find out more about the class action. RAFFWU encourages every eligible worker to register for the class action at www.dominosclassaction.com 64 The Tantex case was heard in June 2020 and later resulted in a judgment (Retail and Fast Food Workers Union Incorporated v Tantex Holdings Pty Ltd [2020] FCA 1258; (2019) 299 IR 56) delivered by Logan J in August 2020. The relevant Worker was a former employee of the franchisee respondent, and the franchisee admitted some breaches of the requirements of cl 29.1 of the EA as to ten-minute paid drink breaks (see [6] per Logan J). Again, doing the best I can with the incomplete evidence adduced and the inferences rationally available to be drawn, I find that the SDA must have been aware of the perceived problem, being the central common issue, no later than 2018, and probably well before this time. 65 In any event, the evidence does not establish that the SDA did anything useful when it became aware and, consistently with the misconception later advanced by the SDA that Pt IVA was unavailable to advance the claims of Workers, no class action litigation was commenced by the SDA prior to, or concurrent with, the Tantex case (or indeed any other type of litigation). This is in contrast to the RAFFWU and its solicitors, who immediately commenced discussions about a potential class action against MAL and launched a public campaign for Workers “to register for fair compensation to build potential class action”. … 71 What the record reveals is that even when the SDA stirred itself into belated action, it did so in a piecemeal way, commencing the cluster of pre-class action cases and post-class action cases for named Workers. The commencement of litigation by the SDA on behalf of the broader class of Workers employed by 324 franchisees (and which, contrary to the class action applicants’ submissions, was only foreshowed on 23 March 2022) did not occur until the filing of the Bandec case on 11 August 2022 – notably, after conferral had occurred with the class action applicants. 72 By contrast, those responsible for the Class Action moved, if not with alacrity, then at least more promptly than the SDA. As previously noted, in about August 2020, Ms Antzoulatos of Shine commenced discussions with the RAFFWU about investigating a potential class action, the investigation was publicly announced on 30 September 2020 and by 31 October 2021, more than 17,000 Workers had registered to participate in the foreshadowed class action. The McDonald’s employers have indicated they intend to defend the claim by arguing that SDA should not be entitled to run any action on the paid rest breaks because SDA knew the entire time that workers weren’t getting breaks and supported that approach. We encourage all members who worked at any McDonald’s outlet between December 2015 and 2021 to find out more at www.shine.com.au/mcdonalds 15
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