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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Christ Church Cathedral hosts public prayer event in wake of mass shooting in downtown Indianapolis
Christ Church Cathedral hosted a public prayer event in downtown Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon in response to a mass shooting that unfolded in the heart of the Circle City early Saturday morning.
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Peters heckling: 'It is absolutely a sackable offence'
Loudly heckling a politician at a public event is "absolutely" cause for dismissal if it clearly tarnishes the employer, says an employment law specialist. A Wellington worker's heated exchange with Winston Peters at a public press conference has landed him hot water with his employer, who does work for the government. The insults flew as the minister for rail was detailing a $600 million funding boost for rail at a press conference at Wellington Train station during the morning commuter rush yesterday. The man interrupted the conference, loudly accusing the deputy prime minister of talking bollocks. The heckler was wearing a lanyard that identified his employer as engineering firm Tonkin +Taylor. The company issued an apology, saying it was investigating in line with its code of conduct and did not condone behaviour that fell short of that code. Winston Peters responds to a heckler during a media conference at Wellington Railway Station. Photo: RNZ The incident has raised a number of questions about what people can or can not say when they are off the clock. Employment law specialist Jennifer Mills told Checkpoint that workers were only off the clock if their conduct could not be connected to your employer. "Where your employer can be readily identified, you're essentially acting as an agent for your employer and there is then the opportunity to bring your employer into disrepute, as is the case in this scenario, where the individual was clearly wearing a lanyard marked Tonkin + Taylor. "The first question for any employer in that situation would be 'is that conduct which has brought us into disrepute?'. In this case it has, so the next question is - 'is that serious conduct that would warrant summary dismissal or some kind of penalty?'." She said for it to warrant summary dismissal, it would have to be conduct which deeply impaired the trust and confidence in the employment relationship, "and I think that we certainly have that here". "In my assessment, this was conduct that constituted serious misconduct. It is absolutely a sackable offence, and the appropriate penalty is dismissal." She said the only way the worker could keep their job is if they made a "sincere expression of remorse", but the speed of the company's apology showed it had already decided the behaviour had crossed the line. The employee may have had a case if they were not wearing the company lanyard, said Mills, as it would be difficult to connect his behaviour to his employer. "In those circumstances, it would be unlikely that his employer could say that we have brought us into disrepute." She advised anybody engaging in such behaviour to remove anything that would connect them to their company. Mills said she thought Peters handled the situation "remarkably well" by de-escalating the situation. Earlier today, Peters pushed back on those framing the "expletive-laden vitriol" as a freedom of speech issue. "I've never heard such filthy language out in the public like that - foul, filthy language - and if you think that's free speech, you couldn't be more wrong," he said. Asked whether the worker should lose his job, Peters said that was an employment matter for the company. Labour leader Chris Hipkins told reporters Peters did not seem to be focused on the big issues facing the country. "I've been interrupted by protesters before, it's a bit annoying when it happens, but it happens," Hipkins said. "That's the nature of living in a free democracy, where people have free speech, these sorts of things are going to happen." The Free Speech Union said today the incident had nothing to do with Tonkin + Taylor, and apologising off the bat set a "dangerous precedent" and sent the message expressing political opinions in public was unacceptable. "Individuals don't forfeit their right to express political views just because they have a job," spokesperson Nick Hanne said in a statement. "Employers don't own employees' time when they are commuting to work, and the choice to heckle Winston Peters has nothing to do with Tonkin + Taylor." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Baby Shower Guest Shocked After Being Told People Have to Pay to Attend: ‘I Might Be a Bit Out of Touch'
A Mumsnet user shared that her friend — a mother-to-be — is making guests pay to attend her baby shower at a teahouse 'It'll still be open to the public so they're not paying to hire it out or anything,' the baby shower guest explained At the venue, the paying guests will be served foodA woman wants her baby shower guests to make it rain cash at the party. One of the baby shower guests shared on the community forum Mumsnet that the mom-to-be is making friends and family pay roughly $13 each to attend her baby shower at a teahouse that will still be open to the public. 'I might be a bit out of touch here,' she wrote. 'My baby shower was 8 years ago now, but I just feel that it's a bit cheeky [to have guests pay] 😬.' Guests learned about the unexpected fee after they had already RSVP'd and bought very specific gifts for the baby shower. 'We had a ridiculous gift list — everything very particular — with actual links to websites,' the pregnant woman's friend recalled. 'We all had to say what we were buying so it could be crossed off the main list. Whatever. I chose something and that was that.' 'Just had a message to say that food will be [$13] each and we need to pay cash on arrival,' she continued. 'I mean, it's been a month or so since people RSVPd and 'chose' their gift. And so now with this payment surprise thrown in, it would seem a little off to turn around and cancel.' She noted that no one has called out the host for the demand, adding that the teahouse is owned by a family member of the mom-to-be. 'It'll still be open to the public so they're not paying to hire it out or anything,' she explained. 'The mom-to-be is a lovely friend so, of course, I will still go and have a nice time. BUT am I being unreasonable to find it all a bit cheeky and annoyed that it wasn't mentioned to start with?' is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! Many Mumsnet users replied that it's normal to be expected to pitch in for food if the baby shower isn't at someone's house or backyard. 'Well obviously if they're having the shower at a venue where you'd pay for food, you'd be, er, paying for the food 🤦♀️,' one person commented. Other readers agreed, with one user responding, 'It's also expected to pay your space if it's something like an afternoon tea or a dinner, but if it's a BBQ in someone's garden then not so much.' However, one person pointed out that she 'can understand it's a bit of a gray area as the family owns the tearooms.' Read the original article on People
