A Federal Court challenge between high-profile political staffer Sally Rugg and teal MP Monique Ryan has shone a light on Australia's "troubling" parliamentary culture and prompted calls for employment legislation to be overhauled.
The employment dispute, brought by Ms Rugg, could serve as a test case for what constitutes "reasonable" working hours in what some say could have wider ramifications for workers across the country.
It comes after Ms Rugg launched legal action against Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth over alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act during her time as chief of staff.
Her lawyers allege Ms Rugg was expected to work an unreasonable amount of overtime on top of working up to 80 hours per week – claims Dr Ryan has denied.
Ms Rugg went to the Federal Court seeking an intervention to stop the termination of her $160,000-a-year job taking place at the end of January.
After going on stress leave in December 2022, Ms Rugg tendered her resignation, but later claimed she had been "pushed" to do so after she refused to do community engagement work on top of her usual working hours.
On Tuesday, Justice Debra Mortimer dismissed Ms Rugg's application to continue work for Dr Ryan,...
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