Unum has been named one of the 2019 Disability Equality Index “Best Places to Work” for disability inclusion by the joint initiative of the Disability: IN and American Association of People with Disabilities.
The Chattanooga-based insurer scored particularly high for culture and leadership committed to inclusion.
“Unum is committed to ensuring an inclusive workplace, which allows employees to bring their best selves to work and better reflects the millions of people and families we protect,” said Elizabeth Ahmed, executive vice president of people and communications at Unum.
Unum offers a variety of programs, benefits and resources to advance an inclusive culture so all employees can reach their full potential. More than 400 employees are involved in Employee Resource Groups to champion initiatives related to creating an inclusive culture.
House repeals tax on ‘Cadillac’ plans
House Democrats and Republicans are joining in a rare show of unity, voting overwhelmingly to repeal an unpopular tax on generous health insurance that’s a symbol of former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.
The “Cadillac tax” has never gone into effect, since lawmakers kept delaying it. Wednesday’s 419-6 vote increases chances that the Senate will follow the House, going for a full repeal.
Beginning in 2022, the tax would slap a 40% levy on the value of health insurance plans above roughly $11,000 for single coverage and $30,000 for family policies.
The idea was to help control costs, and repeal would add $193 billion to the federal deficit.
A broad coalition of business groups and unions pushed to kill tax, while policy experts mounted a lonely defense.
Netflix slows growth in spring
Netflix’s video streaming service suffered a dramatic slowdown in growth during its traditionally sluggish spring season, a drop-off coming as the company boosts its prices and girds for even stiffer competition.
The service picked up 2.7 million worldwide subscribers for the April-June period. That’s far below Netflix’s forecast of 5 million subscribers. The second-quarter letdown announced Wednesday comes after Netflix attracted nearly 10 million subscribers during the first three months of the year , more than any other quarter since the debut of its video streaming service 12 years ago.
The slowdown rattled investors already wondering how Netflix might fare against a new wave of competition coming this fall when both Walt Disney Co. and Apple plan to launch their own video streaming services.
After the second-quarter numbers came out, Netflix’s stock plunged 12% in extending trading. If that decrease is replicated in Thursday’s regular trading session, it will be the largest decline in Netflix’s stock price in three years and wipe out $18 billion in shareholder wealth.
Netflix ended June with 151.6 million worldwide subscribers, far more than a current crop of video streaming rivals that includes as Amazon and Hulu.
Fed finds worry on trade barriers
The Federal Reserve’s latest nationwide survey released Wednesday reveals that despite growing worries about the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade battles, the overall economy remained solid.
The Fed said that many of its 12 regions saw slight gains in retail sales and home sales. Auto sales remained flat and farmers struggled with heavy rains.
“The outlook generally was positive for the coming months with expectations of continued modest growth, despite widespread concerns about the possible negative impact of trade-related uncertainty,” the Fed report said.