Latest news with #WRC
Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Toronto Sun
‘BROKEN SYSTEM': Maryland teen released after allegedly breaking into 121 cars in one night
Surveillance footage showing suspect breaking into vehicle in Laurel, Maryland. Photo by WRC A teen boy in Maryland arrested for allegedly breaking into 121 cars in a single night was ordered to be released — then more than a dozen more vehicles were looted the next day. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The 16-year-old was detained on Wednesday in connection with a spate of vehicle break-ins that were reported on May 4, WRC reported. The suspect and two other teens allegedly smashed car windows and stole items from 54 cars in Laurel, Maryland, and 67 more in three neighbouring counties — all in a single night. Surveillance footage from across the area captured the trio driving around in a stolen car and smashing open the windows of random vehicles they came across. 'They were just simply going through neighbourhoods and targets of opportunity, breaking into cars,' Laurel Police Chief Russ Hamill told the outlet. 'If there was something in there, they'd steal,' he said. 'If there was nothing in there, they'd move to another car.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Investigators obtained a search warrant to the suspect's home and found keys to the stolen car and to 25 other vehicle, along with other stolen items that 'managed to link him to all 121 events throughout the region,' Hamill said in a news conference on Wednesday. 'I would like to tell you that's the end of the story there. But that's not the end of the story,' Hamill continued. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Laurel Police and the Maryland State Attorney's office requested that the teen remain in the juvenile detention centre due to the sheer volume of alleged crimes but he was released due to his clean record, and the crime he is accused of aren't violent, Hamill detailed. 'Yes, five hours after we were at his house, he was released back into the community, back into the environment that allowed him to be out roaming the streets in all of these counties, late at night and in the early morning, doing these crimes to begin with,' he added. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The night of his release, another flurry of vehicles were broken into — but Hamill did not specify if the teen suspect and his gang were involved. 'We're not gonna lay every theft from auto in the region on him and his group, but I will note we had 17 the next night,' he noted. Read More The teen's alleged accomplices have been identified and Hamill said he expects them to be arrested soon. The trio faces charges of multiple thefts from automobiles, and motor vehicle theft, the outlet reported. However, Hamill admitted he has 'little hope' that they will be held accountable 'due to this broken system.' 'We don't do this lightly. We don't ask for young people to be held on a whim. We do so to help protect the community and them.' Crime World Toronto & GTA World Toronto Raptors
Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
€12k compensation for mum not allowed return to role held before maternity leave
A Monaghan-based renewable energy firm has been ordered to pay over €12,000 to a former employee who was not allowed to return to the role she held prior to going on maternity leave. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ruled that Eurotech Renewables Limited of Castleblayney, Co Monaghan has discriminated against former worker, Leanne McGuinness, on grounds of family status. Ms McGuinness, who joined the company in February 2020, claimed she was not allowed to return to the role of administration manager that she held prior to going on her second period of maternity leave. A representative of Eurotech Renewables denied the claim and maintained that the complainant had been temporarily laid off due to various economic reasons that had nothing to do with her maternity leave. In evidence, Ms McGuinness said it was agreed that she would work a four-day week after she returned to work in November 2021 following an earlier period of maternity leave. She told the WRC that her role was filled by a temporary employee when she commenced her second period of maternity leave in December 2022. Ms McGuinness said she was phoned by a company director shortly before she was due to return to work in September 2023 to state that he had a new role for her. However, she was informed by the director two days before her scheduled return that the company could not afford to take her back 'at the moment'. However, Ms McGuinness said the correspondence ended with the director saying that Eurotech Renewables was 'regretful and saddened to have to let you go from the company', which she took to mean that she was dismissed. The WRC heard she wrote back to the company to express her shock but also to state that she was fully entitled to return to work in her original post 'if the new role is not there'. Ms McGuinness said the director told her by phone that her old role was not available as it was being filled by another person on a full-time basis. However, she said the director wrote to her again in October 2023 in which he stated that she had been placed on temporary lay-off but that a new role of 'service department receptionist' was available. Ms McGuinness said she believed the company was seeking to re-classify her dismissal as a temporary lay-off to limit 'their obvious legal exposure'. She outlined how she was given a deadline to respond to the offer of the alternative role, which she ignored and instead submitted a complaint to the WRC. Ms McGuinness said she had suffered a series of discriminatory acts, including when she was informed that she could not return to her former role after her maternity leave was over as a consequence of her former four-day arrangement. She also claimed the offer of the alternative role represented a demotion. However, Eurotech Renewables said Ms McGuinness had requested that she could return to a part-time role on her return to work in September 2023. The company claimed it was agreed that she would return to a customer service role when her request could not be accommodated. It maintained it experienced a significant downturn in its business around the same time and noted three other staff were also placed on a temporary lay-off. Eurotech Renewables said Ms McGuinness was also the first person to be contacted about a return to work following such lay-offs but she did not respond. WRC adjudication officer, Brian Dolan, said any reasonable employer in the circumstances of the case would have allowed Ms McGuinness return to the same role and offered the alternative position to the recently-hired member of staff. Mr Dolan noted that the company had not removed Ms McGuinness as an employee with the relevant authorities even though correspondence to her had read 'much like a letter of dismissal'. He concluded that Ms McGuinness was placed on unpaid lay-off before any other staff member solely on the basis of her absence due to maternity leave. Mr Dolan said she was presented with her removal from work as a fait accompli and was offered no real opportunity to advocate for her return to employment. He also observed that her former role was not considered for lay-off by the company. 'It is apparent that the complainant suffered discrimination on the grounds of availing of maternity leave,' said Mr Dolan. He ordered the company to pay €12,480 – the equivalent of six months' pay – to Ms McGuinness in compensation for the effects of the discrimination.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Major Racing Series Officially on Hiatus, Future Uncertain
Electronic Arts has put one of the longest running racing game series on hold, leaving its future uncertain. , which turns 24 years in November 2025, is 'pausing' development on future titles with immediate effect. Its developer, Codemasters, has since had its official X account pulled. EA Sports became WRC publisher in 2023 following its purchase of Codemasters in 2021. Recently, the publisher announced approximately 300 job cuts across the company, but Codemasters wasn't mentioned in the announcement. Now, Codemasters X account has disappeared. The studio, which was founded in October 1986, has been in operation for 38 years. 'Every great journey eventually finds its finish line, and today, we announce that we've reached the end of the road working on WRC,' EA wrote. 'After releasing EA Sports WRC in 2023, the 2024 season, including the recently released Hard Chargers Content pack, will be our last expansion. For now, we are pausing development plans on future rally titles.' EA reassured fans that EA Sports WRC will continue to be playable for existing and new players. How long that will last is anybody's guess, however. As for Codemasters, EA hasn't said what's next for the studio. Its fate remains unclear. The post Major Racing Series Officially on Hiatus, Future Uncertain appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Dublin Live
2 days ago
- Business
- Dublin Live
Dublin restaurant worker awarded €17k after being made redundant while pregnant
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A well-known hospitality group on Dublin's northside has been ordered to pay €17,000 to a former assistant manager of one of its restaurants who was made redundant shortly after notifying her manager she was pregnant. The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that McHugh's Restaurants had discriminated against Karen Condell on grounds of gender over her dismissal from her role as assistant manager at McHugh's restaurant in Portmarnock. The WRC found that it had breached the Employment Equality acts 1998-2015 in its handling of the dismissal. The company, which also operates McHugh's restaurant in Raheny and Blackbanks bar and grill in Kilbarrack, is part of a group which also operates a number of off-licences and Centra stores. Ms Condell claimed the redundancy cited as the reason for her dismissal was not genuine. She told the WRC that she informed her employer in June 2024 that she was pregnant. Ms Condell said she was subsequently informed by the group's hospitality manager, Paul Foley, at the end of July 2024 that the restaurant in Portmarnock would be closing but she was reassured that redeployment options would be explored. She gave evidence that no alternative role was found for her over the period she worked out her notice. The company said a decision was taken to close the Portmarnock restaurant on July 30, 2024. Mr Foley gave evidence that attempts were made to find alternative employment for affected staff. He stated employees with over a year of service were subsequently offered roles elsewhere within the group but only one staff member with less than 12 months' service – a chef – was redeployed due to a specific vacancy matching their role. Mr Foley said he had noted that "all our hospitality businesses are worryingly slow" when asked by Ms Condell in August 2024 about another role. He told her on August 27, 2024 that no alternative jobs had been found. Mr Foley said he mentioned that there might be a role in a deli although he had no authority over the group's grocery division, although he thought it might not be suitable given she was pregnant. WRC adjudication officer, Breiffni O'Neill, said he was satisfied that there was prima facie evidence that Ms Condell was discriminated against as the restaurant's owner had failed to source an alternative role for her following the closure of the outlet in Portmarnock. Mr O'Neill contrasted her situation with many of her colleagues from the Portmarnock restaurant who were not pregnant and who were given jobs elsewhere within the group. He highlighted how the company had held no discussions with Ms Condell prior to notifying her she was being made redundant on July 30, 2024. Mr O'Neill said she was also not provided with any opportunity to engage in what would have been a very belated consultation process about her redundancy in advance of her termination date. He specifically pointed to how she had not been asked for any input or questioned about her transferable skills, qualifications or previous experience. The WRC official noted that Mr Foley was unable to say if any other roles had become available within the group during her notice period which had not been offered to other staff from the Portmarnock restaurant. "The respondent did not take sufficient and effective measures to avoid dismissing the complainant on the grounds of redundancy," said Mr O'Neill. Ordering McHugh's Restaurants to pay Ms Condell compensation of €17,000 – the equivalent of 26 weeks' pay – for the negative effects of her discriminatory dismissal, Mr O'Neill said the sanction should be "effective, dissuasive and proportionate." While a higher award might well be justified in the case, he said it took into account Ms Condell's relatively short period of employment and the relatively small nature of the respondent's business. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Filipino swim coaches win back thousands in docked wages after promise of 'a better life in Ireland' dashed
Three swimming instructors who were recruited from the Philippines to teach in Ireland only to have hundreds of euro a week docked off their wages for "training costs" before being let go have won their pay back. It's after the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found there was "no evidence" to back up a claim by the operator of a swim school that it had spent €3,000 to train each of the workers. One of their former colleagues told the WRC she was hired on the promise of "a better life in Ireland" only to be "forced" into taking a pay cut out of fear of dismissal. They were among a group of six Filipino instructors to pursue rights claims against the unidentified swim school, which were heard in Ennis, Co Clare, in November and December last year. Five of the workers have now secured nearly €12,000 for breaches of the Payment of Wages Act 1991, while an allied claim by the sixth has yet to be published by the WRC. All of the workers are Filipino nationals – the company's legal representative explaining that it was "the first European company to obtain a work permit for Filipinos as swimming instructors". Two of the six instructors started work for the swim school in June 2022 and four more instructors were recruited in the Philippines in August 2022 and brought to Ireland in January 2023, the WRC heard. However, within months of securing work visas and flying in the new instructors, the management of the school moved to shed staff, citing "financial reasons" for terminating the employment of three of the new hires during their probationary periods. They were identified only as Mr B, Ms R and Ms M in the WRC decisions. The employer's position was that it had conducted "intensive" training with the newer instructors for the first three or four weeks they were in Ireland which had enhanced their skills, and paid each of them throughout that period, while making no income from them. The owner of the swimming school, delivered the training personally, and provided employees with "instructional videos", the workers told the WRC. The employer's position was that this had cost €3,000 to provide. Andrea Montanelli of Peninsula Business Services, who appeared for the employer in the case, said the company had "highly invested" in bringing the workers from the Phillipines, "paying for their work permits, for the visa, flights etc". She submitted that a total of €1,692.38 was taken from three of the workers' last four pay packets in "instalments" of €641.45, €497.97, €276.48 and €276.48. The company relied on a training agreement and a deductions from pay agreement signed by the three new hires in the Phillipines in August 2022 as the basis for taking the "instalments". Under questioning from Elaine Davern-Wiseman BL, who acted for the group of workers instructed by Martina Murphy Solicitors, the workers explained that these agreements were provided to them in English, without a translation to Tagalog provided, and that they signed them without having an opportunity to take legal advice. The workers each said they were already qualified swimming instructors when they were recruited, and that the only training they had was in how to teach swimming lessons "the [company] way". Unpaid hours A fourth instructor, Ms S, who was among the new hires in January 2023, remained an employee of the company at the time of the hearings last year. The tribunal heard the employer asked the remaining staff to take a pay cut of €100 a week for 16 weeks between June and September 2023. Ms S told the WRC in her complaint form: "I was employed on the promise of €576 per week and [the] chance of a better life in Ireland. This [was] not true. I was forced to sign a contract reducing my wages," she said. Ms Montanelli submitted that the company was "encountering financial difficulties" and that Ms S and other staff members "accepted the proposal" that they take reduced wages. Ms S's evidence was that she signed a document to that effect – but "was not aware that she could refuse to sign", the tribunal noted. She believed she "had to sign it as others in similar roles had recently had their employment terminated" and "feared that a refusal to sign the agreement would result in the termination of her employment". Ms S's evidence was that she did not have the chance to take legal advice or have the matter explained in her native language. Adjudicator Orla Jones wrote that the employer "did not provide any evidence to support the claim" that the training for the three new hires actually cost the business €3,000 each. It could not rely on the agreements signed in the Philippines by the workers when they did not have the benefit of legal advice or an interpreter, she added. She noted in her decision that the wording of the training costs agreement was that €3,000 referred to charging €3,000 to each worker if they were to "leave" the employment. Ms Jones wrote that each of the workers had their jobs terminated and had not chosen to leave. She awarded Mr B, Ms R and Ms M €2,307.68 each, comprising three weeks' unpaid wages each and a further week's notice pay, in respect of the wages docked for the purported training costs. Ms Jones ruled that the €1,600 docked from Ms A's wages between June and September was an "illegal" deduction and ordered the employer to pay her back the sum. She also awarded Ms A €1,626.90 for time she spent doing administration without pay. A fifth instructor, Ms F, who had stayed on until her one-year contract ran out 28 June 2023, also secured €1,789.59 for working unpaid hours doing administration. To date, the swim academy has been directed to pay €11,939.53 to the group of workers. The names of the company and the employees were anonymised in WRC decisions published this week because they were linked to parallel proceedings under the Industrial Relations Act 1969, which must be heard in private.
