The D & O insurance market is soft: what you can do to take advantage of changing market conditions.
GOOD NEWS for policyholders--nearly everyone in the D & O insurance business agrees that the market is soft. Premiums are down, capacity is up, and terms and conditions continue to improve. In short, it's a buyer's market. What does this mean for you? It means that you...

Misconduct: too many absences are grounds for firing.
A CNA worked for a staffing agency which supplied personnel to nursing homes. She was terminated after calling and canceling her assigned shifts more often than agency policy allowed. Then she applied for unemployment compensation, was turned down and filed an appeal. Her appeal hinged on the...

D & O insurance lessons from 'just for Feet'; A classic disaster situation: not enough insurance, bankruptcy, and inability to indemnify the directors.
A RECENT $41.5 MILLION SETTLEMENT by five former outside directors of Just for Feet Inc. brings independent director liability back into the spotlight. Somewhat surprisingly, the size of the personal contributions in this case were significantly greater than the notorious outside director settlements involving WorldCom ($24.8 million) and Enron...

The Segregated Origins of Social Security: African Americans and the Welfare State.
The Segregated Origins of Social Security: African Americans and the Welfare State. By Mary Poole (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. xi +258 pp. $59.95, cloth; $22.50, paper). This is a long overdue book: since completing my dissertation thirty years ago, I have wanted to...

D & O insurance and indemnification: both are critical to a comprehensive director and officer liability protection program.
SINCE THIS COLUMN'S debut nine years ago, we have regularly written about protecting your personal assets from the costs of litigation by means of well-negotiated directors' and officers' (D & O) liability insurance. A comprehensive protection program should also include indemnification rights in the form of corporate bylaws or...

Shifting gears: frustration over not finding jobs has caused workers from different groups to blame each other. Some say the global economy and corporate interests are to blame.
Lessie Gowdy knew what her boss really meant when he told her to come back when her health was 100 percent. After working 31 years as a machine operator at Tootsie Roll Industries, Gowdy, who had been struggling with her bad back, packed her customary brown pants, cotton hair...

Oregon taxes kind to businesses.
Byline: Joe Mosley The Register-Guard Note to businesses looking for a new home: you could do a lot worse than Oregon. Rhode Island, for instance. The Tax Foundation, a nonprofit group that's been looking at government fiscal policies since 1937, has rated Oregon's...

Business briefs.
COLUMN: BUSINESS BRIEFS TELEGRAM & GAZETTE Bloomberg Index Central Massachusetts +1.19 184.01 Volume: 54,092,521 Up: 17 Down: 10 Unchanged: 5 Gainer: Double-Take Software Inc. $18.56 +$1.31 (volume of 396,339...

Charlton free cash spending on agenda; Special town session.
Byline: Debbie LaPlaca CHARLTON - With more than a half-million dollars available to spend from free cash, voters at the special town meeting tomorrow will be asked to fund 10 capital requests which include a fire engine, dump truck with sander and a police cruiser. ...

Business briefs.
COLUMN: BUSINESS BRIEFS TELEGRAM & GAZETTE Bloomberg Index Central Massachusetts -1.44 178.24 Volume: 49,338,732 Up: 7 Down: 17 Unchanged: 8 Gainer: Providence and Worcester RR Co. $16.90 +$.36 ...