coronavirus impact News

Meat Plant Closures, Absenteeism Rise With Workers’ Fear of Coronavirus, Lack of Safety

CHICAGO/WINNIPEG, Manitoba — At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the new coronavirus, according to a meat inspector. In Colorado, …

Cyber Criminals Increasingly Will Target Top Executives in Ransomware Attacks: Report

Senior executives increasingly will be targeted by cyber criminals looking for ways to steal money from large corporations, according to a report from cyber analytics provider CyberCube. Organized criminals and hackers are moving away from high volume, low-value methods of …

Warehouse Workers Risk COVID-19 Shipping Knick-Knacks, Luxury Goods

As U.S. authorities ordered shutdowns of non-essential businesses to fight coronavirus, retailer Nordstrom Inc. closed hundreds of stores and gave in-store workers three weeks’ pay, calling their safety its top priority. That benefit did not extend to Meagan Christensen, 34, …

P/C Insurance Is Industry Least Likely to Default Due to Coronavirus: S&P Credit Analysis

Compared to others, the property/casualty insurance industry is weathering the coronavirus crisis rather well. The property/casualty insurance is the least-impacted industry by the coronavirus pandemic, at least so far, according to an analysis from S&P Global Market Intelligence. S&P compiled …

How P/C Insurance Industry Can Maximize Its Response to Coronavirus: Crisis Manager

“I’m shocked, just shocked that you’re suggesting that during a crisis that insurance companies might in fact be considered the villains. I’ve never heard that before.” That’s Richard Levick speaking. Levick, who has a public affairs, crisis and reputation risk …

Lessons on Trade-Offs From the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Viewpoint

LONDON — Lockdowns have brought most of the world’s advanced economies to a near standstill as policymakers fight the coronavirus pandemic by banning all but essential movement outside the home. Tens of millions of employees across retail, entertainment, food services, …

Amazon Tests Hospital Workplace Safety Idea With Disinfectant Fog at Warehouse

Amazon.com Inc. is testing the use of disinfectant fog at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York starting on Tuesday, the company told Reuters, following worker protests over the risk of coronavirus infection at the site. The measure shows how …

How Agencies Can Manage Employees Working from Home During Coronavirus Crisis

Millions of Americans are currently subject to shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders as efforts to slow the spread of the current strain of coronavirus expand, thus requiring employees across all industries to shift to performing their jobs remotely. For many workers, …

Van Gogh Theft Focuses Attention on Empty Museums’ Security During COVID-19 Crisis

The break-in lasted just minutes. At 3 a.m. on Monday, a thief — or thieves — forced open the glass doors of the Singer Laren museum in the Netherlands and headed straight for its prize exhibit: a Van Gogh oil …

Passenger Sues United Airlines Over Refusal to Refund Airfare Despite U.S. Order

United Airlines Holdings Inc. was sued by a passenger for refusing to issue refunds for canceled flights, three days after U.S. regulators ordered airlines to reimburse customers. The passenger, Jacob Rudolph, filed the suit in federal court in Chicago on …