Latest news with #Riches
New York Post
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Meathead feds target California movers over nonexistent age discrimination: ‘Weaponization of government'
Which would you be more likely to hire: a moving company whose ads feature energetic, youthful workers or one that highlights its less sprightly, aged employees? That's a no-brainer — even a meathead could answer such a simple advertising question. Yet the federal government has spent about a decade investigating California-based, family-owned Meathead Movers for age discrimination, citing its marketing materials — demanding $15 million in penalties and suing when the company wouldn't cough up the cash. And the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has done this without pointing to a single discrimination complaint. Advertisement Meathead, California's biggest independent moving company, and its CEO, Aaron Steed, are finally fighting back — after a think tank heard about the crazy case. 'The EEOC is not only targeting a successful American company on what appears to be pretextual grounds, but now it's refusing to tell the public why it did that. And we think the public has a right to know,' Jon Riches, the Goldwater Institute's vice president for litigation, tells The Post. Goldwater sent the agency a Freedom of Information Act Request in March, seeking basic facts such as the number of age-discrimination complaints against Meathead Movers and number of EEOC investigations into alleged age discrimination at any moving company since January 2016. The feds refused to 'fess up. Advertisement So this week Goldwater appealed, Riches tells The Post exclusively — and the EEOC has 30 days to respond before the Arizona think tank will sue. 'We bring legal actions to challenge government overreach and unconstitutional action,' explains Riches, an ex-Navy JAG who joined Goldwater in 2012. 'We've had cases of many, many, many other government agencies, and I've never seen anything this unprecedented in my experience.' Most EEOC lawsuits are the result of discrimination complaints. The agency has filed just eight in the last decade based on what it calls 'directed investigations' — those 'without a charge of discrimination filed by an individual.' Meathead Movers' case is one of them. 'We are hopeful that the EEOC stops this ridiculous prosecution of Aaron and his company, but we also want to know why it started and why the government made the decisions it was making,' Riches says. Advertisement Can the feds really fine a firm simply for its marketing — when it's not fraudulent? 'No, I don't think so. And I think that also raises First Amendment concerns. Obviously Meathead Movers has a right to communicate truthful information about lawful activities, including in its marketing materials' — and 'it markets individuals that are capable of performing the job,' Riches says. But, he adds, 'The EEOC doesn't really seem to be too concerned with the First Amendment.' It 'sent Aaron a very staggering gag-order letter. Aaron has not been shy about talking about the facts of the case and what the government's doing to him on social media, and the agency sent him a letter, basically telling him to stop doing that.' Aaron Steed won't stop. 'I'm aware of my constitutional rights, and I'm fighting for my company's existence and the 300-plus families that depend on us,' he tells The Post — noting EEOC 'sent the gag order after Goldwater sent a FOIA request.' Advertisement EEOC started investigating Meathead around 2015 and finally contacted Steed in 2017. He insists the company doesn't discriminate. 'So we welcomed and embraced the EEOC, answered all their questions,' he says. 'We fully cooperated with the investigation, and then we were just shocked when we got a bill for $15 million shortly after — and with the full weight of the federal government to collect it.' How did it arrive at that figure? 'Even though there was not a single complaint against my company that initiated this, their logic was that there's at least 500 class members' — all hypothetical, as Steed notes. EEOC decided lost wages would total $15,000 per person, 'which is a record for age discrimination. No settlement has ever been reached for that amount. And then they multiplied it times two.' Why times two? 'Fees and penalties. And we quickly explained to them, 'Hey, we can't afford that,'' Steed replies. 'It has felt like this has never been about age discrimination. It's been about them trying to run over my company, trying to put us out of business,' he adds. 'It feels personal, and it doesn't make sense.' The 45-year-old started the company as a high-school junior in 1997. 'I wrestled in high school and in college, and this was a perfect job for me to support myself and my friends and my brother while going to school playing sports,' he recalls. 'Once I turned 21, 22, I saved up enough money to buy a truck. And now we have hundreds of employees and 80 trucks.' Steed says he has employees over 40 — even over 60. Still, he notes, 'The reality of our job is that a lot of younger people tend to gravitate towards it. The job description is to move heavy things all day, up and down stairs, and then at Meathead Movers, you're expected to jog.' That's right: After you've put furniture or boxes in the truck, you hustle back for more. 'That's part of what makes us different than typical moving companies,' Steed explains. 'It kept the momentum going, kept us focused as an athlete. It kept us in our flow state. It always really impressed the customers. It made move day more of an athletic event, and since all moving companies charge one hourly rate, we save our clients time and money, and this is what we've done since the get-go.' Advertisement It's a win-win situation: 'My employees love getting paid to work out, and the customers get a great value.' 'We pay $18 to $20 an hour, and you've got to be able to pass a drug test and a criminal-background check to work for us and have a great attitude,' he says. 'We have a reputation for doing really good quality work with people you can trust in your home, and we give back to the community. We're most known for offering unlimited free services to women fleeing abusive relationships, in partnership with eight different domestic-violence shelters across central and southern California.' Steed reflects, 'This has been my life's work.' He hopes to pass the company onto his and his wife's 3½-year-old son one day — if it survives. 'I've already spent well over a million and a half dollars defending myself for a crime I haven't committed, and it is just absolutely destroying us,' he says. 'I can't afford to keep litigating against the federal government. It's incredibly expensive, it's crazy, very time consuming and very stressful.' Advertisement He doesn't know why the feds targeted him. 'Last week, a friend of mine said, 'Hey, did you run over someone's cat over there at the EEOC?'' he says. 'It feels deeply personal, and I really don't understand it.' Goldwater, which is working pro bono, is flummoxed too. Perhaps a former competitor is involved. What it does know: 'The case raises serious questions about the weaponization of government.' 'This would be a really different sort of case if it was based on actual complaints of people who are actually harmed. But for a government agency to concoct these very thin allegations against a successful American company should trouble all your readers,' Riches says. 'Why would the federal government target a company whose job is moving because it hires people who can perform that job, regardless of their age? If it can do that to Meathead, it could do that to anybody. This is a bigger issue than just the EEOC and just Meathead Movers.' Steed spoke to The Post from LAX, where he was awaiting a flight to Washington, DC — where he'll meet Thursday with EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas. Was that a tough meeting to get? Steed laughs. Advertisement 'Yeah,' he finally responds. 'We've been wanting to meet with them for a while, and I'm grateful that the chair has taken time out of her busy schedule to meet with us.' Lucas did not respond to The Post's request for comment. Spokesman Victor Chen said, 'We cannot comment on ongoing litigation, but we can point you to our public statement at the time the suit was filed.' He also sent the 2023 lawsuit filed in federal court. It complains 'Meathead Movers' founders and executive management . . . describe 'young and energetic-student athletes' as part of their founding vision.'
Tom's Guide
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
5 shows like 'Your Friends and Neighbors' to stream while you wait for season 2
The first season of "Your Friends and Neighbors" has come to a close, and while we wait to see what Andrew Cooper steals next (and from whom), there's a very specific hole left in our watchlists. The Apple TV Plus series introduced us to Jon Hamm's Andrew, a freshly fired hedge fund manager who decides to spend his free time breaking into the homes of his rich neighbors — not out of desperation, but more like curiosity, boredom and maybe a touch of existential spite. With its deadpan voiceover and sharp commentary on the absurdity of wealth, "Your Friends and Neighbors" makes it weirdly easy to root for a guy rifling through someone else's medicine cabinet. While we wait for season 2 to sneak back into our lives, here are a few shows like "Your Friends and Neighbors" that scratch the same itch. In this FX drama, an Irish Traveller family decides to take up residence in an upper class neighborhood when they're involved in a car accident that kills a wealthy family named the Riches. On the run from their clan, from whom they've just stolen a large sum of money, they have little choice but to assume the identities of the Riches, struggling to fit in within a WASP-y community of hedge fund managers and high-powered attorneys. Starring Suzy Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver as Rich parents and Noel Fisher, Shannon Marie Woodward, and Aidan Mitchell as their three children, "The Riches" benefited from the strong performances and bonds between its central cast. Watch on Hulu Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Andrew Cooper on "Your Friends and Neighbors" wasn't the first TV character to engage in nefarious, illegal goings-on beneath the surface of an otherwise picture-perfect suburban neighborhood. Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker) preceded him by a number of years on "Weeds," when she — a mother with two boys to provide for whose husband has recently died — starts a lucrative side hustle as the local marijuana dealer. "Weeds" was a satirical take on the typical family drama, and it ran for eight seasons on Showtime from 2005 to 2012. Along the way, it earned 20 Emmy nominations, including several for Parker as well as Elizabeth Perkins as Botwin's neighbor. Watch free on Plex This may sound familiar: A typical family man whose marriage is on the rocks finds himself in the midst of a crisis and, determined to provide for his wife and kids, begins working as a freelance criminal. Initially, he tells himself it's a means to an end, but before long, he starts to relish his life of crime, and what's more, he's good at it. This could describe Andrew Cooper in "Your Friends and Neighbors," but is just as easily applied to Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in "Breaking Bad." After White, a mild-mannered high school teacher, is handed a devastating cancer diagnosis, he realizes that he can make enough to keep his family comfortable after his death by opening a meth lab. But that's just where it starts. Before long, he gets deeper and deeper into the criminal world, until he's virtually unrecognizable. Breaking Bad was a hit series on AMC, earning four Emmys for Cranston, three for Aaron Paul, and two for Anna Gunn. It also generated a popular spinoff, "Better Call Saul," which offers up an origin story for White's shady lawyer, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). Watch on Netflix It can be easy to justify a little light larceny when you find you and your family in dire financial straits. This is certainly the case in "Good Girls," when a trio of suburban mothers decide to turn to robbery when they each, for different reasons, fall on hard times. Beth (Christina Hendricks) is reeling from a recent divorce after her husband cheated on her. Ruby (Retta) needs money to pay for her child's medical treatments. And Annie (Mae Whitman) is about to become embroiled in an expensive custody battle. They're all more or less justified in looking for not-so-legal side hustles, which they find when they decide to team up and rob a local grocery store. Surely they'll just commit one robbery, get away with it, and then that'll be the end of it, right? Watch on Netflix Set in Palm Beach in 1969, this comedy-drama feels a little bit like a mash-up between "Mad Men's" period aesthetics and the criminal antics of "Your Friends and Neighbors." It stars Kristen Wiig as the ambitious Maxine, who is determined to do whatever it takes to join the high-flying members of Palm Beach's most exclusive country club. Her increasingly absurd antics only prove the lengths she's willing to go to accomplish her goals, as she clumsily manipulates seemingly everyone in town to earn a coveted spot among their elite. Wiig is in fine form in Palm Royale, showcasing her deftness with both comedy and drama. Palm Royale was renewed for a second season in 2024, so we should be getting more social-climbing dramedy in the near future. Watch on Apple TV Plus
BBC News
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Granite Harbour set to return for a third series as the BBC drama heads back to Aberdeen
The BBC has announced the return of Granite Harbour for a third series. Made by LA Productions, it will once again bring together acting talents Romario Simpson (Django, Riches, Small Axe) and Hannah Donaldson (Crime, Payback, The Crown) as crime duo Lindo and Bart for the Aberdeen-set drama. The new three-part series, which will film in Aberdeenshire and Glasgow later this year, is a co-commission between BBC iPlayer, BBC Scotland and BBC One. It will be written by Rob Fraser (Tell Me Everything, Tin Star), Ciara Conway (Whistable Pearl, Holby City) and Writers Guild of Great Britain award-winner Jillian Mannion (River City, Death in Paradise). The third series sees Sgt Davis Lindo (Romario Simpson) and DCI Lara 'Bart' Bartlett (Hannah Donaldson) investigate a suspicious death in the travelling community at an estate on the outskirts of Aberdeen. As the investigation gets underway, Lindo and Bart must navigate a complicated cross-community romance which uncovers a complex past. Gavin Smith, Executive Producer, BBC Scotland says: 'We are delighted to be bringing Davis and Bart back in what I'm sure will be their toughest test yet. This Aberdeen set detective drama has attracted new audiences to the BBC and beyond and we look forward to the sparkling granite of the city shining on screen once more.' Colin McKeown, LA Productions says: 'It's an absolute pleasure to be asked by the BBC to produce a further series of Granite Harbour, to build on the character development we've created so far with our stellar cast. Scotland, and in particular, Aberdeen is a real gem and a place that we, as filmmakers, have really come to love. Our desire is to carry on our journey with our audience and let them share and enjoy what series three of Granite Harbour has to offer.' Granite Harbour (3x60) was commissioned by Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning, BBC Scotland and Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama. The executive producers are Gavin Smith for BBC Scotland, Gaynor Holmes for BBC One and Colin McKeown for LA Productions with Donna Molloy (Compulsion, Anthony) producing the third series. Granite Harbour is made by LA Productions for the BBC and BBC Scotland and supported by Screen Scotland. Granite Harbour joins a growing list of hit BBC series from Scotland, including Shetland, Vigil, Nightsleeper and Rebus as well as forthcoming dramas Half Man, Lockerbie and The Ridge. Watch Granite Harbour on BBC iPlayer and add to your Watchlist JM2
CBC
15-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Paramedics in Waterloo region say resources are starting to 'match the demand for our service'
It was only a few years ago when paramedics in Waterloo region were sounding the alarm about being overworked and lacking necessary resources to effectively do their jobs, but recently they say there's hope. At the end of 2022, Waterloo region experienced weekly Code Red events, meaning there were no ambulances available to respond to emergency calls. This was caused by a variety of factors including being understaffed, long offloading times at hospitals and the overall increase for service demand that was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. John Riches is the chief of Waterloo region's paramedic services. He says things are looking much better. "In 2022, we were at a bit of a precipice where yes, investments were being made, but the number of Code Zero or Code Red events were still significant," Riches explained. "What we're seeing now after the year of 2024 and still seeing it now into 2025, is that the number of resources we have are starting to be able to match the demand for our service." Though Code Reds, now known as Code Zeros, are still happening once in a while, it's nowhere near the severity that it was during the peak of the pandemic. In 2022, Waterloo region had 210 Code Red events, totalling roughly 76 hours, according to the region's performance measurement indicators update from that year. A stark difference compared to 2024's year-to-date update released in September, indicating approximately 14 hours were spent in code red. Riches attributes much of the improving metrics to the Region of Waterloo's council supporting an expansion for paramedic services. Back in September 2023, it was announced that local paramedic services would receive $4.4 million to hire more staff. The region also received an additional $1.65 million from the province for a designated offload nurse program. "During peak deployment, we now have 40 staff resources available on the road and overnight that drops to 20, obviously because call demand drops overnight while people are sleeping." As a result, emergency response times have also improved. On average, regional paramedics were responding to calls in 2024 within nine minutes and six seconds. That's 22 seconds faster than 2023, when they were responding within nine minutes and 28 seconds. "We do sometimes see response times lengthened out in the rural townships because there's a wide geography out there and it takes longer to get the calls," Riches explained. Hospital offload delays Although there are still available ambulances, hospital offload delays continue to remain long, though Riches says they're significantly decreasing. Offload time refers to the period that begins when paramedics arrive at the emergency department and ends when their patient is placed in a bed and care is handed over to ER staff. As of June 2024, paramedic services had lost an average of 47 hours over a 12 month period due to offload delays. This is equivalent to nearly four, 12-hour ambulance shifts per day. "I think the biggest change that I've seen in the two years that I've been with the region is that our hospital partners are fully invested and involved at a senior executive level to improve ambulance offload time within the emergency departments," said Riches. "It's no longer just an emergency department issue to deal with, they're asking the whole hospital to support the work. So that kind of buy-in to addressing the problem has probably been the single biggest thing that has improved ambulance offload times." Burn out and exhaustion As working conditions continue to improve for paramedics due to resources becoming more accessible, workers are feeling the benefits as well. During the pandemic, there were many reports across the country of paramedics feeling burned out and exhausted from the demands of their work. Now, Riches says there are indications his medics are slowly but surely recovering. "They work in really challenging circumstances, in unusual situations in which the environment can be unsafe and they do an amazing job everyday," he said. "I certainly am hearing from paramedics that they're not missing meal breaks … We're also seeing reduced end of shift overtimes, which is also an indicator that we have resource availability so we can get our paramedics off on time." While those factors show a trend in the right direction, Nick Desclouds says they're not out of the water just yet. "Mental health is still something that we really have to strongly advocate for," said the President of CUPE Local 5191, the union representing Waterloo region's paramedics. Desclouds is also a paramedic himself. "The career is difficult so having ways that we can support each other in the workplace and not having that overwhelming volume every single day we show up to work, it's definitely going to help improve that," he added. The Region of Waterloo's Paramedic Services has a 10-year master plan that outlines investments within that time period. The current plan expires at the end of 2027. "Things have changed so much coming out of the pandemic and population growth, which results in an increase of 911 calls," Riches explained. "We are engaging in a new master plan development and once that master plan gets adopted and approved by council, that would take over for the current master plan and would start in 2026 to 2035." Within that time frame, the Region of Waterloo plans to open a new hospital located on the University of Waterloo campus. Something Riches says would be a big change in terms of the service paramedics will be able to deliver to residents.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tributes to man killed in Nairobi motorcade crash
A British man killed in a suspected hit-and-run involving a vehicle in the Kenyan president's motorcade was "incredibly generous" and "always pleasant", a friend has said. Edgar Riches, 79, from Poole, Dorset, died on Thursday after he was struck on a road in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. He had been visiting relatives in the country when he was fatally injured, the BBC was told. Police detained a driver, since bailed, who is thought to have been driving a support vehicle at the back of President William Ruto's official convoy. Mr Riches worshipped at Poole's St Joseph and St Walburga and Our Lady of Fatima Churches, was a long-standing member of the town's Conservative Association and raised money for Catholic aid charity CAFOD. Ann Stribley, the president of Poole Conservative Association, said she had known Mr Riches for about 50 years. "He was private, quiet person but incredibly generous and if he said he was going to do something, he always did it," she said. "There's a total sense of shock and loss. He will be greatly missed. I shall remember him as a kind, quiet and thoughtful, always pleasant, individual. "He was a huge benefit to the association for many years and we will be lucky to see his like again." "[Mr Riches] was an active fundraiser and organised many social events, fundraising for CAFOD to help a school in Kenya," a church representative, who did not want to be named, said. "He went every year to visit his sister and nephew." There has been uproar on social media following Thursday's incident. While Kenyans are accustomed to roads being cleared for the presidential motorcade, some have questioned why the convoy was so big and moving at such speed. Kenyan police said Mr Riches' next-of-kin have been informed. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. British man killed by president's convoy in Kenya hit-and-run
