Government and Economy Geithner: Economy Stabilizing, Pain Ahead Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday the U.S. economy was beginning to stabilize, but cautioned that consumers will still feel the pain of the current recession. Reuters.com Post-Recession America: A Vastly Different EconomyWith the US economy beginning to show some early signs of stabilization, people are wondering what the “new normal” economy is really going to look like? Here are some thoughts. MSNBC.com Management and Financial Issues [Read Full Article]

Employee obesity has long been an issue that employers have kept at arm’s length, and for good reason. The potential legal and public relations ramifications of calling an obese employee into the office for a heart-to-heart chat about their weight are devastating. Workers’ compensation administrators have tended to shy away from the issue as well, fearing lawsuits and preferring to concentrate on body part injuries rather than the whole person. But now, driven by the costs associated with obesity, employers and workers’ compensation underwriters and administrators are beginning to take obesity into account when determining workers’ comp benefits.  According to a study by NCCI Holdings of New Jersey, workers who are morbidly obese, defined as having a Body Mass Index of 40+, filed 45% more claims, missed 8 times the workdays and incurred over 5 times the medical costs and 8 times the indemnity costs than did non-obese workers. By comparison, those who were merely ove... [Read Full Article]