WASHINGTON–The Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Wal-Mart v. Dukes sex discrimination lawsuit was re-litigated on Wednesday–in the political arena, with the debate focused on the court’s approach to corporate cases. The Wal-Mart case was Exhibit A at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing probing whether the nation’s highest court has tilted too much toward big […]
Senators examine high court record on cases against business
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Malloy seeking legislation to reduce employee benefits
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said today he intends to ask the General Assembly to pass legislation changing the way state employee pensions are calculated, reducing their sick days and freezing longevity payments–relatively modest first steps in narrowing collective bargaining for union workers. In a conference call with editorial writers, Malloy said he is submitting legislation […]
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Keeping kids enrolled is key to reducing ranks of uninsured
Efforts to get kids health insurance are centered on a relatively new premise: One of the most effective ways to reduce the number of uninsured children is to make sure those who are already covered stay covered.
Posted inMoney
Blumenthal, Himes appear in “It Gets Better” videos
Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, both appear in new videos made for the “It Gets Better” project. The project began last year after several gay and lesbian youths committed suicide after being harassed, bullied, or shunned because of their sexual orientation. The videos, now numbering more than 10,000, encourage […]
Posted inHealth
25 nursing home contracts settled
Negotiators have reached agreements on new contracts for workers at 25 of 69 nursing homes where contracts expired earlier this year, according to the union representing the workers. “We’re a little less than halfway there,” said Deborah Chernoff, spokeswoman for the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, SEIU. The 25 contracts cover about […]
Posted inHealth
Drug dispute as metaphor for national health care debate
A fight over whether the world’s best-selling cancer drug should be approved to treat breast cancer represents a metaphor for the national debate over the government’s role in health care, Maggie Fox writes in the National Journal. Fox writes that the drug Avastin has been shown to be effective in treating some tumors, but evidence […]
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Malloy recommends nearly 5,500 layoffs, $54M cut in town aid
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has recommended nearly 5,500 state employee layoffs, elimination of 1,000 other vacant positions and a $54 million cut in municipal aid to help offset the unrealized savings from the failed union concession deal. It was unclear from limited details released late Tuesday afternoon how much savings could be achieved over the […]
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Lieberman, Coburn offer Medicare plan ‘nobody’s going to like’
WASHINGTON–Here’s a political pitch you don’t hear too often: “Nobody’s going to like this plan. We understand that.” That’s how Sen. Tom Coburn, a hard-edged fiscal conservative from Oklahoma, described the Medicare reform proposal he’s been working on with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (l) with Sen. Tom Coburn: ‘Some strong […]
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Can labor and management cooperate on savings after deal failed?
Though state employees have voted down a concessions package worth an estimated $700 million in the next budget year, there are elements of that plan that don’t require a vote and–on paper–could save as much as $170 million. But Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday that he’s not confident those savings–which were supposed to come […]
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Malloy: With union deal dead, legislature may have to force change
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said today he will explore legislative options to curtail what he called state government’s unsustainable, long-term health and pension costs, but he refused to say if he will seek a curb on collective-bargaining rights for state employees. “We attempted to do that through negotiation. That has failed,” Malloy said. “The people […]
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Malloy challenged to trim his own staff before ordering layoffs
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was challenged by his critics Monday to reduce his own office’s staffing–where total salaries are up 9 percent in annual value over May 2010–before deciding how many state employee layoffs are needed to balance the budget. “We’re not going to balance the budget on cuts to the governor’s office alone, but it’s important, it’s symbolic, to […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Supreme Court spurns CT Green Party case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to take up an appeal from the Green Party of Connecticut, contesting the state’s requirements for third-party candidates to qualify for public financing. The justices made the decision without comment. The Green Party suit, filed in 2006, said the thresholds set for participation in Connecticut’s Citizen Election Program […]
Posted inEducation
Are employers inflating an ‘education bubble’?
There’s no argument that college graduates have more opportunities and make more money, Daniel Indiviglio says at The Atlantic. And there’s a good case to be made that education is valuable in itself. But should college degrees be as important as they are in today’s economy? Indiviglio says a college degree has become a proxy […]
Posted inHealth, Money
Lieberman, Coburn to unveil Medicare proposal
Sen. Joseph Lieberman appears to have found an ally in his bid to remake Medicare, and along the way, possibly earn himself a spot in the debt-reduction debate that has dominated Washington in recent months. Today, Lieberman will team up with Sen. Tom Coburn, a conservative from Oklahoma, in touting a proposal to overhaul Medicare, […]
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SEBAC hopes to save concession deal, but has no clear plan
Leaders of state employee unions said today they will explore salvaging a concession deal rejected by a minority of union members, but they acknowledged having no obvious means under their by-laws to reconsider the vote before the Malloy Administration responds with mass layoff notices. Two things were clear after an early evening press conference: The […]