The Australian Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) launched legal action against supermarket giant Coles on Dec. 2 for allegedly underpaying more than 7,800 employees for a total of $115 million (US$82 million) between January 2017 and March 2020. FWO assessed disclosed information by Coles on wages and entitlements and alleged that the underpayments largely occurred because the annual salaries were insufficient to cover minimum lawful entitlements, such as overtime, weekend, and public holiday pay rates. FWO Sandra Parker said underpayments caused by salaries that do not sufficiently cover awards had become a persistent issue among businesses of all sizes and industries. “Businesses paying annual salaries cannot take a ‘set-and-forget’ approach to paying their workers. Instead, employers must ensure wages being paid are sufficient to cover all minimum lawful entitlements for the hours their employees are actually working and the work they are actually doing,” Parker said. Most alleged underpaid staff were …