Flu pandemic – Michael Fitzgibbon at Thoughts from a Management Lawyer asks what your business plan is should a flu pandemic hit. As a denizen of Toronto, a city that faced the SARS outbreak, he is perhaps more sensitized to the potential impact on business than many of us here in the States. He points to a study conducted by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s London Business Panel, in which 23% of respondents admitted their business would not be able to survive for three-months if their customer base were disrupted by a pandemic. More than one fifth said that they would no longer be able to operate their business model if between 10 and 30 per cent of staff became unavailable for work.
What exactly constitutes a pandemic? See some definitons via Google.
Actuarial News reports that the Society of Actuaries is beginning research on pandemic influenza and the U.S. insurance industry’s preparedness. Results from this research initiative will be made available during the SOA’s Spring Health Meeting in June in Hollywood, Fla.
We’ve previously discussed flu pandemics:
Preparing for Avian Flu
Avian Bird Flu: When Second Class Workers Meet a First Class Hazard
Employment law – George’s Employment Law Blawg has a pair of interesting items this week: Is Your Company A Target for A Discrimination Class Action Suit? Ten Factors to Consider and Top 6 Things You Should Know About Employment Law. And Judge Robert Vonada at Pennsylvannia Workers Compensation Journal (PAWC) points us to an article in The Legal Intelligencer about a case argued in the state’s supreme court involving geography and light duty. At issue is whether an employer can terminate the benefits of a claimant when an offer of light duty has been extended, but the employee has moved out of the geographic area.
Immigrant workers
At Working Immigrants, Peter Rousmaniere offers a summary of the Pew Report on the Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.. The data has been updated since 2005. And Disabled Worker Law Blog discusses the Balbuena decision holding that a worker’s status as an illegal immigrant is not a bar to receiving benefits for lost wages in a personal injury law suit. Troy Rosasco discusses why he sees this as the most important labor decisions that will come down this year.
Best of the Bloggers We are pleased to be included in Human Resource Executive’s list of the Best of the HR blogs, a roundup by Christopher Cornell, who states “Human resource Web logs are popping up everywhere. We scoured the net to find the best, most informative examples.” You have to complete a free registration to read the article, but this registration gives you access to this and other worthwhile HR content.
