Australia’s Fair Work Ombudsman launched legal action against the operator of a business that manufactures and sells wooden furniture in southern Queensland for underpayment.

Facing the court is sole trader Brenton Gietzel, who owns and operates ‘Queensland Made’ in Toowoomba in Queensland.

The regulator investigated after receiving requests for assistance from four workers that Gietzel employed for various periods between January 2022 and October 2023.

The workers included a full-time apprentice cabinet maker, and three casual workers engaged as a cabinet maker, labourer and joiner assistant.

The apprentice, the casual cabinet maker and joiner assistant were aged between 19 and 22 at the time of their employment.

A Fair Work Inspector issued two compliance notices to Gietzel in 2023 after forming a belief that he had underpaid each of the workers’ minimum wages, owed under the Timber Industry Award 2020. The Inspector  believedthat the apprentice’s public holiday, personal leave entitlements and annual leave entitlements were also underpaid.

The Fair Work Ombudsman alleged that Gietzel, without reasonable excuse, failed to comply with the compliance notices, which required him to calculate and back-pay the workers’ entitlements. A breach of pay slip laws is also alleged.

The workplace watchdog is seeking penalties in court. Gietzel faces penalties of up to AUD 9,390 (USD 6,163) per contravention for the alleged failure to comply with the two compliance notices. Gietzel also faces a penalty of up to AUD 18,780 (USD 12,325) for the alleged breach of pay slip laws.

The regulator is also seeking court orders requiring Gietzel to comply with the compliance notices, including calculating and rectifying any underpayments, plus interest and superannuation.

A hearing is listed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Brisbane on 2 December 2024.