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Walmart's women workers take case to Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear a potentially landmark labor case on whether 1.5 million women employed by retail giant Wal-Mart can file a discrimination lawsuit as one unified group.

Female workers at the company, which is America's largest employer, claim that over the years, they systematically received lower pay than their male counterparts and were passed over for promotions, and are asking the US high court for the right to pursue legal action against the company as a group.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs note that women at Wal-Mart make up about two-thirds of the hourly workers, but are only a fraction of store managers.

They also point out that in nearly every job category, women earned less than men, even though most had logged more years with the company than their male counterparts.

The women are seeking back wages they believe they are owed and punitive damages against Wal-Mart, as well as a change in its pay practices, which would affect both current and past company employees.

"Plaintiffs presented evidence that Wal-Mart managers undervalued women and espoused outdated stereotypes about their roles in the workplace," said Ariela Migdal, staff attorney with the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties, which has filed a friend of the court brief in the case.

"The women allege that Wal-Mart's nationwide practice of leaving pay and promotion decisions up to local managers allowed the stereotypes to limit their opportunities. Because of this, the women should be able to pursue their class action," said Migdal.

If the court allows the women to sue en bloc, the case would constitute the largest job-discrimination case in US history, with tens of billions of dollars at stake.

In seeking to block the case, Wal-Mart warned in August last year of the enormity of the class action, describing it as "larger than the active-duty personnel in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard combined."

Even more significantly, the ruling is expected to set a precedent for future labor discrimination lawsuits, opening the door for a possible flood of broadly defined "class action" cases on behalf of women, minorities and people with disabilities.

Legal observers say it is unlikely to rule in favor of the women, noting the US high court's pro-business, free market bias.

Wal-Mart has fought fiercely to defeat class action status for the suit, which was filed a decade ago by seven female Wal-Mart workers.

The often liberal-leaning Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco agreed by a 2-1 vote in 2007 and again in a narrow 6-5 decision in April of last year, deciding both times in favor of the women employees.

Each time, Wal-Mart appealed the ruling, and the case now goes to the highest US court, which is expected to issue its ruling at the end of June.

If the company loses, it faces the risk of legal action from the ensemble of female workers employed at Wal-Mart since 1998

On the other hand, a win for Wal-Mart could be a blow to nationwide job bias suits.

For its part, Wal-Mart maintains that it is impossible to assert a case of discrimination based on company employment figures, and say there is no pay difference between men and women at the vast majority of its outlets.

Instances where those differences exist are made on merit, not because of a discriminatory company-wide policy, Wal-Mart insists.

Jamie Townsend Joins B. E. Smith as Vice President, Financial Performance

B. E. Smith today announced the appointment of Jamie Townsend as vice president, financial performance. A seasoned healthcare executive with more than 25 years of experience in senior leadership and consulting roles, Townsend will assume her duties at B. E. Smith immediately.

Lenexa, Kansas (Vocus/PRWEB) February 08, 2011

B. E. Smith today announced the appointment of Jamie Townsend as vice president, . A seasoned healthcare executive with more than 25 years of experience in senior leadership and consulting roles, Townsend will assume her duties at B. E. Smith immediately.

In her new role for B. E. Smith’s Consulting Solutions, Townsend will lead client financial performance initiatives, assisting them with solving immediate challenges and achieving and sustaining peak performance. A focused leader, she has improved financial performance and productivity in a broad range of operational settings, from 25-bed critical access to 1,000-plus-bed hospitals, and from small health systems to multi-billion-dollar, multi-state healthcare organizations.

“Jamie brings an advanced understanding of the clinical and financial integration necessary for optimum performance across the healthcare delivery continuum,” said Deirdre Byrne, senior vice president of Interim and Consulting Services, B. E. Smith. “She can quickly assess the financial situation and implement solutions that drive real results, making her a trusted advisor for our clients.”

Townsend entered healthcare management as a hospital chief financial officer and has served in a variety of senior leadership roles, including chief executive officer. She has extensive experience in financial turnaround, productivity and revenue cycle management working in for-profit, not-for-profit, governmental and academic settings. During her career, she has led medical staff development,strategic planning and board communication and reporting functions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Tennessee in Martin, Tenn., and is a certified public accountant.

Townsend can be reached at jtownsend(at)besmith(dot)com.

About B. E. Smith: Founded in 1978, B. E. Smith is a full-service leadership solutions firm for healthcare providers. B. E. Smith’s comprehensive suite of services includes Interim Healthcare Leadership, Permanent Executive Placements and Consulting Solutions. The company is comprised of veteran healthcare leaders who partner with each client to create a solution that uniquely fits that client’s individual needs. B. E. Smith maintains the largest database of skilled leadership and interim executive candidates in the industry and recently placed more than 600 leaders into healthcare organizations worldwide. For more information, visitor call 877-802-4593.

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Christine RicciB. E. Smith(913) 708-8913Email Information

Innerhofer wins super-G, Miller 12th at worlds

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany – Christof Innerhofer of Italy mastered a bumpy course to win the super-G at the world championships for his first major title, while Bode Miller lost a pole and finished 12th.

Hannes Reichelt of Austria was second and overall World Cup leader Ivica Kostelic of Croatia was third.

Defending champion Didier Cuche of Switzerland missed the podium and finished fourth, while Olympic champion Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway failed to finish.

Miller, the Olympic silver medalist, clipped a gate with his arm and lost a pole. He maintained a fast pace and was nearly a full second ahead of the 10 previous racers. But he lost his balance coming out of a bend at the bottom, slowed down and stood up as he crossed the finish line.

"I tried to push on the top, but I hooked my arm pretty hard," Miller said. "I made the recovery but then I lost my balance. I skied like I wanted on the top. But it's a matter of finishing without making mistakes."

His run inspired Innerhofer.

"I saw Bode Miller and I told myself that's how I had to race, too," he said. "Simply give your best, then you can't reproach yourself at the finish."

Innerhofer has only one World Cup victory to date — a downhill in Bormio in Italy in December 2008 — but he beat Reichelt by a massive 0.60 seconds, finishing in 1 minute, 38.31 seconds. Reichelt, who won the super-G race on Saturday, clocked 1:38.91. Kostelic finished in 1:39.03.

"These races come only once every two years, so I knew I had to go all out today," Innerhofer said. "You can't make any sort of calculations. The course is incredible and exhausting, but I managed to keep things under control."

Miller said skiing without the pole didn't seem to make much of a difference. He likely would have broken into the top 10 if he had not crossed the line in a leisurely fashion.

"It was difficult. It was challenging. But that's how it should be. It's the world championships. It's a pretty tame hill. It's really basic," Miller said. "But today it was bumpy enough and fast enough to make it challenging. You see a lot of guys having problems and if you see Innerhofer skiing, he really deserves to win here. He was one of the few guys really pushing and really taking some risk."

Ted Ligety of the United States, who went off the course, said running early was more difficult.

"A couple of turns you get some sun," Ligety said. "Just in general it's in the shade all the way down and that makes it tough when it's that bumpy."

Although his World Cup career includes only three other third-place finishes, Innerhofer had come close to winning medals at the last two major events. At 26, Innerhofer has been seen as one of the leaders in a fairly young Italian speed team, although he has been slowed by injuries.

He missed the podium at the world championships two years ago by finishing 0.05 seconds behind bronze medalist Svindal. And he was sixth at the Vancouver Olympics last year, only 0.08 seconds away from the bronze.

Innerhofer is one of the most outgoing members of the team, hailing from the German-speaking Alto Adige region. He jumped onto the top of the podium during the victory celebration.

"What I'm most pleased about is that I was able to attack from top to bottom, which is something I haven't been able to do very often this season. When I crossed the line and looked at the scoreboard I didn't believe it at first. I had to look again to be sure," he said.

"This is the dream for any athlete, and for me to get my first super-G win at the worlds is unbelievable. I can't believe it. Already for a few days I've been telling myself, 'Christof, you've got to risk everything in this race, because you don't have anything to lose. You've got to risk, risk, risk, otherwise you're going to be angry with yourself.'"

Reichelt said he was surprised with his second-place finish.

"Normally, these are not my conditions," Reichelt said. "I thought I'd skied a lousy race. The uneven, icy piste was extremely difficult, at some points it was really twilight. I got tired quickly and I could hardly stay upright at the end."

Erik Guay of Canada, who won the super-G race and the World Cup title in the event on the same slope last year, also failed to finish.

U.S. air rules seen adding 1.5 mln jobs through 2015

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Looming U.S. rules that power utilities face on air pollution could create nearly 1.5 million jobs over the next five years, according to a report.

Engineering, construction and pipefitting are some of the professions that could see a rise in jobs as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules push utilities to invest in new capacity and pollution controls, said the report "New Jobs - Cleaner Air". The report was commissioned by Ceres, a coalition of environmentalists and institutional investors.

Republicans and some Democrats in Congress have slammed the EPA's looming air rules on utilities as "job killing", saying they could push older coal plants into early retirement and raise electricity prices.

But the report, produced by researchers at University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute, said investments to comply with the Clean Air Act have been good for the economy. It quoted the Office of Management and Budget, which said in 2003 that every dollar spent on compliance with the act since 1970 has led to $4 to $8 in economic benefits.

"The bottom line: clean air is a worthwhile investment," said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres.

Most of the nearly 1.5 million jobs would be temporary, lasting through 2015 and depend on plants spending nearly $200 billion on pollution controls and building new capacity.

As utilities build new power plants a net of more than 2,000 permanent jobs in operations and maintenance would be created, even though many older plants could be closed, the report said.

In addition, the clean air rules can create jobs not counted in the report, such as in exports of domestically produced technologies like scrubbers that capture pollutants before they reach smokestacks.

"It's clear that clean energy investments that will be made to meet the federal Clean Air Act and state regulations will not only save thousands of lives and save billions of dollars in health care costs, but will also create almost 300,000 jobs every year," Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat who has sponsored air pollution bills, said in a statement.

The report looked at EPA rules designed to reduce emissions in the eastern half of the country of smog-causing chemicals, known as the Transport Rule, and to cut output of mercury and other hazardous pollutants from boilers, known as the Utility MACT rule.

Analysts say these rules are more certain than the EPA's new and looming rules on greenhouse gases, which several bills in Congress seek to stop or delay. The EPA is required by a court order to issue the rules on mercury.

Not everyone was sure that the rules on traditional pollutants would create new jobs. Dave Raskin, a lawyer representing power companies at Steptoe and Johnson LLP in Washington, said it was hard to predict whether power companies would be able to invest in large amounts of new capacity, because it depended on whether they would be able to raise rates on the power they sold.

"Will the money actually be spent or will the coal plants be shut down because the people who have to spend this money can't recover it from ratepayers?" he said.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Dale Hudson)

Cowell courts groups, maybe Abdul for `X Factor'

LOS ANGELES – Simon Cowell wants his new Fox talent series "The X Factor" to include controversy, vocal groups and, maybe, Paula Abdul on the judging panel.

"We've spoken to her, she knows I'm a big fan," Cowell said of his former fellow "American Idol" judge. "I've always said at some point we are going to be working together."

But, he added, "I have to take everyone's opinions into account," including the show's other producers and the network.

A decision about who will join Cowell on the four-member panel has yet to be made and won't be announced for another month or so, he said during an interview and teleconference about "The X Factor."

The show debuts this fall. Cowell exited Fox's "American Idol" last season in part to focus on the new series, which has been a successful format in several countries since its debut in Britain in 2004. Abdul quit "Idol" in 2009 over a salary dispute.

The winner of the U.S. version of "X Factor" will nab a $5 million recording contract with Syco, a joint venture between Cowell and Sony Music. Cowell said that's not a "dressed up" sum: It represents $1 million a year payment for five years, separate from the costs of recording and promotion.

Cowell, known for his sharp-tongued critiques, unsurprisingly said he favors shows on which "anything can happen."

"I rip up the rule that everybody pretends to be friends and they're all going to be pen pals for the rest of their lives, which is complete and utter nonsense," he said. "I like people who are ambitious, and with that comes controversy."

One unwelcome flap last season on the U.K. version of "X Factor" involved the revelation that the pitch-correcting software Auto-Tune was used on at least one contestant's taped audition. Cowell said Monday it was the work of sound technicians and done without his knowledge.

"Once we found out what was going on it was stopped immediately. ... The most important part was once the show went live and (viewers) could see that everyone was singing live and it was a proper, fair competition."

The "X Factor" contest is open to those 12 and older, including groups. Cowell is eager to find breakout talent such as the Black Eyed Peas or Destiny's Child.

"I'm genuinely staggered this hasn't happened. All the signs are out there, from `Glee' to `High School Musical,'" he said, advising "any group of guys, girls, family group members, get it together now. There's a massive, massive opportunity here because you don't have a lot of competition."

The hefty top prize puts pressure on Cowell as well as the winner.

"If they don't sell a single record they still get to keep the money," he said. "It is pressure, because if the wrong person wins, I'm in trouble. ... We've got to find somebody fantastic to get the money back" through record sales.

To do that, he needs to find a talented performer who has a sound work ethic, which he said is something he wants to "instill" in the competition.

"The big, big stars are the people prepared to work at it. You look at somebody like Beyonce: She is the best example of somebody who works it every hour of the day," he said.

Cowell, as "American Idol" viewers know, doesn't lack for confidence: "I believe I can find a star," he said.

He has seen only a few minutes of this season's "American Idol" and its reconstituted panel with Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson, he said. But he's been reassured by its ratings stability that viewers still have an appetite for talent shows — a good sign for "X Factor."

Fox said Monday that auditions for contestants begin March 27 in Los Angeles, with other sessions following in the Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Seattle and New York areas.

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Fox is a unit of News Corp.

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