Small Business Owners Foresee Mounting Healthcare Costs
Small business owners are feeling the pinch when it comes to providing employer-based health insurance, according to a recent study by the National Small Business Association (NSBA), released Sept. 28, found that 92% of small businesses are planning for an increase in their premiums in 2010. Although the average expected increase is 13%, one-fifth anticipate premium increases of more than 20% next year.
“Today, despite the very contentious public debate over how to fix the U.S. healthcare system, 62% of small business owners believe passing some kind of healthcare reform in the next year is important,” said Keith Ashmus, NSBA chair and co-founding partner at Frantz Ward L.L.P. “The key is enacting reform that won’t make costs go up.â€
According to respondents, aside from small business job creation, offering health insurance to employees has for many years served as a significant competitive disadvantage for small businesses in competing with larger companies. Nearly 80% of small business owners believe offering health insurance provides their company a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining quality employees.
“The cost of health insurance has dire implications on small business job creation,” said Todd McCracken, president and CEO of NSBA. “Premium increases forced 31% of small businesses to hold off on hiring a new employee, and 19% to actually lay-off an employee,†he added.
The NSBA 2009 Small Business Healthcare Reform Survey was conducted electronically from Sept. 21-23 using a sampling of 370 NSBA members.
–Renita Burns
Survey Shows Blacks See Global Warming as Major Problem
A Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies survey found that a majority of blacks believe climate change is a growing problem that needs immediate action to remedy.
Fifty-eight percent of the 750 respondents identified global warming as a “major problem,†with many (59%) believing environmental conditions will be worse for future generations.
“While African Americans are underrepresented in the public debates on climate change and environmental issues generally, they are as aware of these issues as other groups in American society, and committed to action — both personal and governmental — to deal with the problems associated with climate change,” said Ralph B. Everett, President and CEO of the Joint Center, in a statement.
A vast majority believe climate change is already causing–or will soon cause– worsening public health (59%), economic instability (61%), increasing flooding, fires, and droughts (60%), and energy dependence (64%).
One of the key findings in the survey is that 26% of African Americans believe they can do “a lot†to reduce global warming, and an additional 44% believe they can take “at least some measures†to tackle the problem. Respondents also expressed support for the cap-and-trade legislation, which puts limits on carbon emissions and gives rewards for energy efficiency. Many said they would support strong provisions for green jobs, incentives to buy energy efficient cars, and improvements to home energy efficiency.
–Janell Hazelwood
High Court to Tackle Time Limitations on Employment Discrimination
The U.S. Supreme Court said Sept. 30 it will hear a case this fall to decide how long plaintiffs have to file a lawsuit based on an employer’s discriminatory action.
The case stems from a 2008 ruling in which the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a 2005 verdict that found the city of Chicago guilty of civil rights violations for using a firefighter hiring exam that illegally discriminated against the plaintiffs. Although white test takers were five times more likely to qualify for the job than black test takers, the appeals court ruled that the 6,000 black applicants did not file their complaints of racism within 300 days after test results were announced.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF), which represents the black firefighters, argues that complaints of bias were not warranted until the city applied the discriminatory test results to hiring practices.
“This case will determine whether job applicants that a court has determined are victims of discrimination will be denied an effective remedy,” said NAACP LDF president John Payton.
The case, Lewis v. Chicago, hinges upon the court’s interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which safeguards against discrimination in the workplace.
Amendments were made to Title VII in January when President Barack Obama signed into law the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. The amendment revised the law to reset the statute of limitations for filing a discrimination lawsuit upon each biased paycheck.
Title VII was also brought into question in 2008 when one Hispanic and several white firefighters sued New Haven, Connecticut for race discrimination over the suspension of an exam for promotions. The city declined their promotions because no black candidates were eligible for advancement after taking the exam.
Lewis v. Chicago will likely be closely watched because new Justice Sonia Sotomayor ruled against the firefighters when she was a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. That ruling was later overturned by the High Court.
The Justices have granted the review of 10 new cases for the 2009 fall term; including an appeal of a ruling about the right to bear arms.
— Marcia Wade Talbert