1. New guidelines could help many pregnant workers
WASHINGTON (AP) — New federal guidelines on job discrimination against pregnant workers could have a big impact on the workplace and in the courtroom.
The expanded rules adopted by the bipartisan Equal Employment Opportunity Commission make clear that any form of workplace discrimination or harassment against pregnant workers by employers is a form of sex discrimination — and illegal.
Updating its pregnancy discrimination guidelines for the first time in more than 30 years, the agency cited a “persistence of overt pregnancy discrimination, as well as the emergence of more subtle discriminatory practices.”
The guidelines spell out for the first time how the Americans With Disabilities Act applies to pregnant workers. And they emphasize that any discrimination against female workers based on past or prospective future pregnancies is illegal.
Joan C. Williams, a law professor at the University of California’s Hastings School of Law in San Francisco, said the new guidelines issued this week can have two major impacts: steering EEOC investigators to be more sensitive to the sometimes special needs of pregnant workers and giving employment lawyers more ammunition in defending clients who were victims of such discrimination.
2. Nowhere to go for Gaza civilians urged to evacuate
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The text message was as urgent as it was unwelcome: The Israeli army advised Mouin Ghaffir to leave his home quickly or risk being killed in airstrikes against Hamas rocket squads.
He swiftly sent his wife and 11 children to a dirty U.N. emergency shelter, with more than 40 people crammed in each classroom, but had to endure a night under bombardment at home after failing to find a safe place for his ailing 75-year-old mother.
Such is the life-and-death predicament of tens of thousands of Gazans being told by Israel to flee targeted areas, most with nowhere to go. U.N. shelters lack the space, and relatives, with their own overcrowded homes, often cannot help.
Israel said urging residents to evacuate — with warnings delivered through automated calls, text messages and leaflets dropped from planes — is part of the military’s attempt to spare civilians whenever possible.
However, rights groups said simply sending warnings does not absolve Israel of responsibility and that those being urged to evacuate need somewhere to go.
3. Rejected Fox bid for Time Warner shows growth mood
NEW YORK (AP) — Though rejected, a surprise bid by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox for entertainment rival Time Warner underscores that large media companies are in the mood for major consolidation.
Time Warner Inc., which owns the Warner Bros. movie studio and TV channels such as TNT, TBS and HBO, said Wednesday that it rejected the deal and had no interest in further discussions. Twenty-First Century Fox Inc., known for movies hits such as the “X-Men” franchise and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” confirmed last month’s takeover bid and said the two companies aren’t currently in talks.
The cash-and-stock offer, worth about $76 billion, comes on the heels of cable giant Comcast Corp.’s proposed $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc., which was made in February and is undergoing regulatory review.
Media is going through a seismic change, as more and more people watch entertainment online, via Netflix, Hulu and services such as HBO Go, which Time Warner owns. Both distributors and producers of content have been struggling to adjust as the lines between TV and digital viewing blur. One way to do that is to get bigger.
4. What happens to your online accounts when you die?
WASHINGTON (AP) — You’ve probably decided who gets the house or that family heirloom up in the attic when you die. But what about your email account and all those photos online?
Grieving relatives might want access for sentimental reasons or to settle financial issues. But do you want your mom reading your exchanges on an online dating profile or a spouse going through every email?
The Uniform Law Commission, whose members are appointed by states to help standardize state laws, on Wednesday endorsed a plan that would give loved ones access to — but not control of — the deceased’s digital accounts, unless specified otherwise in a will.
To become law in a state, the legislation would have to be adopted by the legislature. If it did, a person’s online life could become as much a part of estate planning as deciding what to do with physical possessions.
“This is something most people don’t think of until they are faced with it. They have no idea what is about to be lost,” said Karen Williams of Beaverton, Oregon, who sued Facebook for access to her 22-year-old son Loren’s account after he died in a 2005 motorcycle accident.
5. Swedish court upholds detention order on Assange
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish court Wednesday upheld its detention order on Julian Assange, reaffirming the legal basis for an international warrant for the WikiLeaks founder which has kept him hiding in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for two years.
One of Assange’s defense lawyers, Per Samuelson, said they would study the judge’s decision in detail and then “write a juicy, toxic appeal” to a higher court.
Last month, Assange’s lawyers filed a court petition to repeal the detention order — imposed by the Stockholm district court in November 2010 — on the grounds that it cannot be enforced while he is at the embassy and because it is restricting Assange’s civil rights.
Assange has not been formally indicted in Sweden, but he is wanted for questioning by police over allegations of sexual misconduct and rape involving two women he met during a visit to the Scandinavian country in 2010. He denies the allegations.
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