A U.S. District Court judge has denied class-action status in a case alleging that Microsoft Corp. discriminates against employees based on race and gender. However, the plaintiffs will still be able to pursue individual discrimination claims under the ruling released Friday by Seattle Judge Marsha Pechman. The ruling stems from discrimination cases filed on behalf of Monique Donaldson, Ronald Douglas, Landruff Trent and Janice Harris.
David Risher, one of Seattle-based Amazon.com’s top executives and a key member of chief executive Jeff Bezos’ tight management team, will leave the company in March, a spokesman confirmed Friday. Risher, senior vice president for U.S. stores, was leaving for personal reasons, spokesman Bill Curry said. Separately, Amazon.com announced internally Wednesday that it was reorganizing its operating groups and moving many members of upper management, including Risher, into new positions.
Bob Watt, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, has joined the Boeing Co. as commercial airplanes vice president of government and community relations. Watt will join Boeing in January and report to Alan Mulally, commercial airplanes’ president and chief executive. Prior to his chamber post, Watt served for five years as deputy mayor of Seattle under Norm Rice.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is eliminating 1,000 jobs, or about 2 percent of its workforce, as part of a move to refocus itself as a pure pharmaceutical company. More layoffs are possible as the reorganization continues through mid-2002, spokesman Charles Borgognoni said. The cuts would affect all divisions of the company, although the nine sites in New Jersey would suffer most, losing a total of 350 jobs.
Insurance companies are asking state regulators for permission to exclude terrorism coverage from policies next year. Many insurance contracts expire on Dec. 31, and insurers generally must give policyholders 30 or 45 days’ advance notice of cancellation or major changes in coverage. “We have few options with respect to terrorism,” Gretchen Schaefer, a spokeswoman for the American Insurance Association, said Friday. “It shouldn’t be surprising that insurers are seeking to exclude terrorism as they prepare to deal with the 2002 policies.”
From Herald news services
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