SYDNEY An Australian court fined Qantas Aus$90 million ($59 million) on Monday for illegally laying off 1,800 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said he wanted the fine to be a "real deterrence" to firms that might be tempted by the financial rewards of breaching employment law. The penalty concluded a years-long court battle between unions and the carrier. Qantas decided to sack the workers and outsource their jobs in August 2020, a period of lockdowns