Australia’s workplace arbitrator has ruled that a vaccine mandate issued by mining giant BHP was not lawful or reasonable—a decision expected to have ramifications across the private sector. The mandate affected workers at the Mt Arthur thermal coal mine in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. So far, 50 workers have been stood down over the issue. The full bench of Fair Work Commission ruled Dec. 3 that the direction clashed with the workers’ enterprise agreement, citing a legal technicality. The case was led by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU), who have opposed mandates. The action was deemed a “seminal case” because of its potential ramifications across the country, which has seen several major businesses and organisations hand down vaccine mandates on staff—affecting hundreds of thousands of employees. The CFMMEU argued that the mandate was unlawful because it did not comply with consultation requirements in their …