Experts: Sex bias case will embolden women despite verdict

SAN FRANCISCO — A long legal battle over accusations that a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm demeaned women and held them to a different standard than their male colleagues became a flashpoint in the ongoing discussion about gender inequity at elite technology and venture capital firms.

Though Ellen Pao lost her lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Silicon Valley observers say her case and the attention it received will embolden women in the industry and continue to spur firms to examine their practices and cultures for gender bias.

"This case has been a real wake up call for the technology industry in general and the venture capital community in particular," said Deborah Rhode, a law professor at Stanford University who teaches gender equity law.

The jury of six men and six women rejected all of Pao's claims against Kleiner Perkins on Friday, determining the firm did not discriminate against her because she is a woman and did not retaliate against her by failing to promote her and firing her after she filed a sex discrimination complaint.

In making their case during the five-week trial, Pao's attorneys presented a long list of alleged indignities to which their client was subjected: an all-male dinner at the home of Vice President Al Gore; a book of erotic poetry from a partner; being asked to take notes like a secretary at a meeting; being cut out of emails and meetings by a male colleague with whom she broke off an affair; and talk about pornography aboard a private plane.

But the heart of their argument was that Pao was an accomplished junior partner who was passed over for a promotion and fired because the firm used different standards to judge men and women.

Kleiner Perkins' attorney, Lynne Hermle, countered that Pao failed as an investor at the company and sued to get a big payout as she was being shown the door. They used emails and testimony from the firm's partners to dispute Pao's claims and paint her as a chronic complainer who twisted facts and circumstances in her lawsuit and had a history of conflicts with colleagues that contributed to the decision to let her go.

Rhode and other experts say Kleiner Perkins and the venture capital industry in general did not come out looking good even though they won the case.

"Venture capital firms recognize it's not appropriate to be out in the streets celebrating," said Freada Kapor Klein, founder of the Level Playing Field Institute, a nonprofit that aims to boost minority representation in science, technology, engineering and math fields. "They don't have the moral high ground."

Even before the Pao trial started, a succession of employment statistics released during the past 10 months brought the technology industry's lack of diversity into sharper focus.

Women hold just 15 percent to 20 percent of the technology jobs at Google, Apple, Facebook and Yahoo, according to company disclosures. The data were mortifying for an industry that has positioned itself as a meritocracy where intelligence and ingenuity are supposed to be more important than appearances or connections.

The venture capital industry is even more male-dominated, with a study released last year by Babson College in Massachusetts finding that women filled just 6 percent of partner-level positions at 139 venture capital firms in 2013, down from 10 percent in 1999.

Klein said before the verdict she was contacted by more than a dozen venture capital and technology companies asking how they could improve the environment as a result of the Pao case. She expects some firms will be "smug" after the verdict and do little to change for fear of being dragged through the mud while others will step up.

The attention surrounding the case makes it more likely other women who believe they have been discriminated against will go to court, said David Lewis, CEO of OperationsInc., a human resources consulting and contracting firm. Two women who formerly worked at Facebook and Twitter filed gender discrimination cases against the companies during the Pao trial. One of Pao's attorneys, Therese Lawless, is representing the plaintiff in the Facebook lawsuit.

At the very least, Pao's suit will prompt more women to open up about their experiences in the workplace, said Nicole Sanchez, founder of Vaya Consulting, which tries to help Silicon Valley companies increase diversity.

"I do see a trend now in the name of Ellen Pao," Sanchez said, pointing to the Twitter hashtag, "ThankYouEllenPao" that popped up as the verdict came in. "Women in technology are telling their stories."

___

Associated Press writers Michael Liedtke and Olga Rodriguez contributed to this report.

23.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mad*Pow forum mixes health care, design, tech

As co-founder and chief experience officer at Mad*Pow, a Portsmouth, N.H.-based company that has offices in Boston, Amy Cueva focuses on "human-centered" design that "involves people — the ones who'll be affected by the solutions we create — in the creative process."

But the health care industry is "a little behind" in how it uses design, Cueva said, because organizations such as hospitals and insurance companies, by their very nature, are risk-averse. So when she realized there was no forum that specifically addressed the overlap of health, design and technology, she created one.

This Wednesday and Thursday, about 500 designers, doctors, nurses and entrepreneurs from around the world will gather at the Westin Hotel in Boston's Seaport District for the fifth Health Experience Refactored conference.

"In the health care industry, one of the most complex problems is getting people to change their behavior," Cueva 
said. "We're telling people they need to lose weight, exercise more, eat better, watch their blood pressure. But behavior change really involves the overlap of design, technology and psychology. What leads to lasting change is finding out what people 
really want in their lives."

Cueva recalled one man who was diabetic and so overweight that he needed to use a wheelchair. He wanted to attend his daughter's wedding, but it was going to be held on a beach, which wouldn't be wheelchair-
accessible.

"So we designed a digital diabetic weight-loss program in partnership with Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston," she said. Mad*Pow took the classroom material from the center's weight-loss program and put it online, with videos and a social network for diabetics in the program.

"It was effective in supporting diabetic weight-loss," Cueva said. "Now, Joslin is exploring how to get that technology in the hands of other hospitals and clinicians so that it can help other patients."
Another of the 50 speakers at the conference is Jon Michaeli of MediSafe, an Israeli startup that raised $6 million earlier this year to open new office space in Boston.

MediSafe created an iOS and Android mobile app and cloud-synced database to remind people when to take their medication and alert their family or caretaker if they did not.

"It's really important to have a holistic approach," Michaeli said.

Another keynote speaker, Dr. Darshan Mehta, medical director of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, will focus on how stress affects health and how meditation can counter that stress. And, to help make his point, Mehta will lead the audience in a group meditation.

"This one will be unique, both in size and the number of savvy individuals with skepticism who'll be there, which is good," he said. "I'm hoping people will see that while we're talking about technological advances, let's not forget about the simple stuff."

23.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Group to push for $15 an hour fast food "living wage"

BOSTON — A labor-backed group that pushed for a higher minimum wage in Massachusetts is setting its sights on a new goal: a $15 "living wage" for workers in fast food restaurants and big box stores.

The group Raise Up Massachusetts is backing a bill that would require the companies to pay their employees at least $15 an hour by 2018.

The higher wage would only apply to large corporations with over 100 employees, and would be phased in over three years.

Under a law approved last year, the state's minimum wage increased from $8 to $9 per hour. The increase will eventually bring Massachusetts' minimum wage to $11 per hour by 2017.

Raise Up Massachusetts said it also wants to push for paid family and medical leave for all workers and increased spending on transportation and education.

23.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Colleges getting out of health insurance business

SEATTLE — The federal health care overhaul is leading some colleges and universities to get out of the health insurance business.

Experts are divided on whether this change will be good or bad for students. Some call it an inevitable result of health care reform and a money-saver for students since insurance in the marketplace is usually cheaper than the college plans. Others worry that more students will go without health insurance since their premiums won't be folded into the lump sum they pay for school, and they say college health plans offer more coverage for the money than other options.

The main driver of colleges getting out of the insurance business is a provision in the Affordable Care Act that prevents students from using premium tax subsidies to purchase insurance from their college or university, according to Steven M. Bloom, director of federal relations for the American Council on Education, a Washington, D.C., group representing the presidents of U.S. colleges and universities.

Add to that the provision that allows young people to stay on their parent's health insurance plans until age 26, plus the expansion of Medicaid in some states and the rising cost of student insurance. The result is cheaper health insurance available for students off campus.

But Bloom worries more schools will decide to drop insurance coverage.

"I've heard of instances where schools are thinking about it, but they are reluctant, particularly in instances where states declined to expand Medicaid," Bloom said.

An administrator who managed the process of dropping student health insurance at William Patterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, said he originally worried about vulnerable students not getting health insurance, but changed his mind after doing more research.

"I actually went into the exchange myself and did a bunch of 'what ifs' to see if this was actually a better deal for them. In many cases it is," said Stephen Bolyai, the school's vice president for administration and finance.

The change in New Jersey began with advocacy by community college leaders, who said health insurance was getting so expensive students couldn't afford it, Bolyai said.

Richard Simpson, who is the student health insurance manager at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, contends, however, that student health plans are a better deal for students.

College plans give students more coverage for their money, they usually have lower deductibles, and they are more flexible than some state plans bought on the exchange, said Simpson, who is also chair of the student health insurance coalition for the American College Health Association, an association of college health officers based in Hanover, Maryland.

"Student plans provide 'gold' or 'platinum' level coverage at a 'bronze' price," Simpson said. "We believe that in the vast majority of cases, student insurance is the best option."

As more states expand Medicaid eligibility — as a number of states are now debating — it's likely more colleges will push their students into the marketplace - a development being seen from coast to coast.

Four of New Jersey's 11 state public colleges and universities stopped selling health insurance to their students this past fall: Richard Stockton College, William Paterson University, Ramapo College and New Jersey City University, all four-year schools.

Meanwhile, three of Washington state's six four-year colleges and universities made the change at the same time: the University of Washington, Washington State University and The Evergreen State College.

In some states, student plans are still cheaper than individual plans that can be purchased through the exchanges. And students who work part-time and are not on their parents' insurance often can get covered for free in states that expanded eligibility for Medicaid.

Levi Huddleson, a telecommunications major at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, has not had health insurance since 2012. He looked into buying student health insurance, but found it would cost more than he could afford on the $6,200 he makes annually working part-time.

Huddleson said his parents are retired and cannot afford to pay for his health insurance, his tuition or other bills. If Indiana had expanded access to Medicaid, he would likely be eligible for free health insurance. He currently makes too much money for Medicaid but too little to afford the $166 a month premium he found by searching the federal exchange.

"I cannot afford it, so it is definitely not by choice," Huddleson said about his decision not to buy health insurance. "I considered buying it, but just taking the hit and paying the penalty was significantly cheaper than either option. Luckily, I'm young, and I don't have any serious pre-existing conditions."

23.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

In NYC, an unusual task force fights home-as-hotel rentals

NEW YORK — From an office by the Brooklyn Bridge, a specialized team of investigators tackles a fast-growing concern in the nation's biggest city: apartments being rented like hotel rooms.

Building and fire inspectors, police, lawyers, city tax specialists and others combine door-knocking, digital sleuthing and even video surveillance in an uncommon approach to an issue bubbling up around the country.

New York's investigators have cited over 7,000 fire and building code violations, shut down over 200 short-term apartments and sued several operators — ending an additional 250 short-term rentals — over the last nine years, according to the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement. With Airbnb and other websites sparking a short-term rental boom, some lawmakers now want to triple the illegal-hotel investigation staff and have it go beyond answering complaints to scour the web for suspect listings.

"The problem has skyrocketed in the past few years," and enforcement must keep pace, says City Council Housing and Buildings Committee Chairman Jumaane Williams.

But some proprietors have called the city's tactics heavy-handed. Airbnb says New York unfairly lumps occasional users in with hotel-scale operators, although officials say enforcement focuses on big players.

"It can get overzealous," says Airbnb public policy head David Hantman, who wants New York laws changed to exempt people renting out their own homes and "target the truly bad actors."

It's largely illegal in New York to rent entire apartments for under 30 days, though it can be OK to rent out spare rooms if a resident also stays home.

Yet vacation rental sites boast many apartments. The city fielded 1,150 illegal-hotel complaints last year, up 62 percent from 2013.

Hosts say "home sharing" helps them pay bills and makes traveling funkier and cheaper. But city officials note that guests generally don't get fire sprinklers and other safety features required in hotels, and residents contend with rotating casts of strangers.

"You get on the elevator, and you don't even know who's going to get on," says Audrey Smaltz, a fashion-industry entrepreneur whose Manhattan apartment building has been used as a $500-a-night hotel, according to a city lawsuit. "I don't feel safe."

Countless travelers have learned the front-door entry code, and a stranger wandered onto the roof and stared at Smaltz through her penthouse terrace window one night last fall, she said.

There are no short-term rentals in the building now, the owner said in court papers.

Many cities are addressing, and sometimes allowing, short-term vacation rentals. San Francisco is now crafting rules permitting some home-as-hotel stays and determining enforcement procedures. In Chicago, a business and consumer department handles unlicensed vacation rental complaints and can issue fines.

New York, meanwhile, uses its multi-agency Mayor's Office for Special Enforcement.

Investigations generally start with a police officer, fire inspector and building inspector knocking on doors and asking denizens whether they live there, acting director Elan Parra says. When investigators find a paying visitor, they'll request booking details.

That can lead to violation notices, fines, follow-up inspections and evacuations, if inspectors declare a serious safety threat.

The consequences might not end there. Using software to cross-reference information, investigators look for patterns in complaints, listings, lessees, building owners, managers, companies or other factors that might point to a multiple-apartment operation and warrant not just administrative fines but a lawsuit for damages. Occasionally, investigators will stake out a building with video cameras, Parra said.

"We focus on the places where people are complaining, where there are clearly presented concerns and issues. ... We want to make sure that we're allocating our resources to getting and eradicating the absolute worst operators" and safety risks, Parra said. This month, his office shut down three Brooklyn dwellings it said were bunk-bed-stuffed, fire-hazard hostels.

Meanwhile, City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal and several colleagues called for expanding the staff from 11 to about 36. Councilman Ben Kallos wants the city to post publicly how illegal-hotel complaints are resolved.

But some short-term rental proponents say the office has gone overboard.

Airbnb has spotlighted a Manhattan man who faced $2,400 in fines after renting his room to a tourist, although his roommate stayed in the apartment throughout. A city board ultimately agreed that was legal and nixed the fine.

Another man sued the city over an illegal-hotel inspection, saying investigators intimidated guests, grabbed him by the neck and pushed him. The city denied his claims and settled for what he says was $2,000; the city couldn't immediately confirm the amount.

The man, Mina Guirguis, says he started renting rooms in his Manhattan loft to visiting international students after he and his wife both lost jobs amid the 2009 recession. They soon expanded to a second loft and another whole building they rented. Guirguis says he was unclear on whether the short-term rental laws applied to his setup.

Now, Guirguis and his wife have been booted from the buildings, and the city sued them this fall.

"We have experienced something I could never even imagine could happen in the United States," Guirguis says. "There is something that needs to be stopped."

But the city may just be getting started.

"You'll see more enforcement as we go along," Mayor Bill de Blasio said this fall.

___

Reach Jennifer Peltz on Twitter: @jennpeltz.

23.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

New law to protect domestic workers to take effect this week

BOSTON — A new law set to take effect this week aims to increase protections for domestic workers in Massachusetts.

The law requires people who hire nannies, caregivers and other domestic workers in Massachusetts to adhere to established labor standards and other worker protections.

The bill defines domestic workers as individuals who provide in-home services including housekeeping, laundering, cooking and even companionship.

The new law — which was signed by former Gov. Deval Patrick last year but takes effect Wednesday — also makes clear that domestic workers are eligible for government services and benefits such as unemployment insurance, workers compensation and minimum wage protections.

The law sets rules for sleep, meal and rest periods, and required that female domestic workers receive at least eight weeks maternity leave if they are full-time employees.

23.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bird flu found in a top Minnesota turkey producing county

MINNEAPOLIS — An outbreak of a deadly bird flu strain spread to one of the top poultry producing counties of the nation's top turkey producing state of Minnesota, government officials confirmed on Saturday, raising fears that the that the highly contagious disease could seriously damage the industry.

The highly pathogenic H5N2 strain of avian influenza has infected a third turkey farm in the state, this time a commercial flock of 39,000 birds in Stearns county in central Minnesota. The county is No. 2 in turkey production in Minnesota and is also one of the state's top chicken and egg producers.

State Veterinarian Bill Hartmann said one of the four barns at the Stearns County farm was infected and that many turkeys in it had already died. As is standard procedure, the farm has been quarantined and the remaining birds will be killed. The discovery followed the infections of two other farms in Pope and Lac qui Parle counties of western Minnesota, which have killed thousands of turkeys.

"This is obviously a huge concern to the industry. We are very worried because of the increased turkey production in this specific area," state Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson said.

Hartmann said there is no apparent connection between this flock and the previous two but investigations continue.

The announcement came one day after authorities announced the outbreak at the Lac qui Parle County farm, where the virus quickly killed 22,000 turkeys in one barn. That farm had to kill 44,000 birds in two other barns.

Scientists consider wild migratory waterfowl to be a natural reservoir for avian influenza. While they don't generally get sick from flu viruses, they can spread them through their droppings, and farm workers and rodents can track the virus into poultry barns. But top researchers say they don't know how the virus got to Minnesota or how it got into the closed barns.

The confirmation at the Pope County farm on March 5 marked the first detection of H5N2 in the Mississippi Flyway, a major wild bird migration route. H5N2 was also found within the next several days in commercial and backyard flocks in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. The same strain also has turned up in several western states in the Pacific Flyway.

More than 40 countries have banned poultry imports from Minnesota since the virus was first detected in the state. Frederickson urged poultry producers in Stearns County and elsewhere to do everything possible to increase their biosecurity.

"This industry is so important to the economy of Minnesota. ... It is so important for all of us to continue to reassure our trading partners that our products are indeed safe," he said.

State Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger reiterated that this H5N2 virus poses no threat to the general public and raises no food safety concerns, but farm workers who've had contact with the infected flocks will be monitored.

Hartmann said officials were counting up how many flocks are located within the 10-kilometer-radius restricted zone around the Stearns County farm. He said all flocks within that circle are under quarantine and will be tested. Farms in a ring extending 10 kilometers farther out will be notified and asked to watch for any increased mortality in their flocks.

It's not clear why only turkey farms have been affected in Minnesota because chickens can get the disease too, Hartmann said.

Hartmann said he didn't know where this farm's turkeys normally go. The Lac qui Parle County farm supplied Jennie-O Turley Store, but a company statement Saturday said the Stearns County farm did not. The Pope County farm was a breeding operation.

23.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

Revamped prayer book offers 
modern take for Reform Jews

Hundreds of thousands of Reform Jews will celebrate the High Holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur this fall with a revamped prayer book that puts a new emphasis on inclusiveness toward gays, lesbians and atheists, according to a Boston rabbi who was instrumental in the book's creation.

Mishkan HaNefesh, or "Sanctuary of the Soul," the Reform movement's first High Holidays prayer book in 37 years, includes gender-neutral blessings for transgender people and refers to God as both "Loving Father" and "Compassionate Mother," while leaving room for those who doubt that there is a God at all, said Rabbi Elaine S. Zecher of Temple Israel in Boston, who served as one of the editorial team's advisers.

"It's a monumental moment for the Jewish community because it's a beautiful work in lots of different ways," said Zecher, who also led the 2008 think tank that ultimately led to the consensus that a new prayer book for the High Holy Days was needed. "It is a recognition of the diversity of our community, a sense of welcoming for the lots of different people who come though our doors."

The prayer book — a major focus of this month's convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the rabbinical arm of Reform Judaism — also includes poetry and artwork, and incorporates the writings of Henry David Thoreau and Langston Hughes with the Torah, transliterating Hebrew prayers into English so that anyone can participate, said Rabbi Denise L. Eger, who was installed as the group's first openly gay president.

"This book has had tremendous input — from rabbis, from lay people, from cantors," said Eger, the founding rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood, Calif. "It takes the best of Jewish tradition and melds it with the hopes and anxieties and joys of today. The result is the product not of a top-down process, but really of a bottom-up one."

Of the first edition of 250,000 copies that will be available in June, about 150,000 already have been pre-ordered through the CCAR Press, she said, although she did not immediately have the dollar amount of sales because various discounts are available through April 1. After that, a two-volume set — one for Rosh Hashana, the other for Yom Kippur — will sell for $42, and a pulpit edition of the set will sell for $75.

"We're hoping it will go into multiple printing editions," Eger said, noting that there are about 1.5 million Reform Jews in more than 900 congregations in North America. Eventually, it also will be available electronically, she said.

23.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

The Ticker

Fatal bird flu outbreak widens in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS — An outbreak of a bird flu strain that is deadly to poultry deepened yesterday when state and federal officials confirmed a third Minnesota turkey farm has been infected, this time in one of the state's top poultry producing counties.

The federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said a commercial flock of 39,000 turkeys in Stearns County of central Minnesota has been infected with the highly pathogenic H5N2 strain of avian influenza, which also killed tens of thousands of turkeys at two other farms in Pope and Lac qui Parle counties of western Minnesota.

The confirmation at the Pope County farm on March 5 marked the first detection of H5N2 in the Mississippi Flyway, a major bird migration route. H5N2 also was found within the next several days in commercial and backyard flocks in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. The same strain also has turned up in several western states in the Pacific Flyway.

More than 40 countries have banned poultry imports from Minnesota, the country's top turkey producing state, since the virus was first detected in the state.

British Airways accounts hacked

NEW YORK — Some British Airways frequent flier accounts have been hacked, but the airline said most personal information is safe. The London-based airline did not say how many accounts were compromised, but said they have been locked down and can no longer be accessed.

The breach apparently was the result of a third party using information obtained elsewhere on the Internet, via an automated process, to try to gain access to accounts. It follows problems for hotel companies Hilton and Starwood as well as United and American airlines.

23.40 | 0 komentar | Read More

AG developing online claims system for consumers

The state Attorney General's office is working on an online system for people to file claims when its Consumer Protection Division obtains judgments or settlements calling for restitution to consumers.

The idea of an online claims system was broached as a way to make the claims process easier on consumers in a recent Boston Herald Radio interview with Attorney General Maura Healey.

Earlier this month, Healey announced a $260,000 settlement with Isis Parenting, the Needham-based prenatal and parenting retailer that abruptly shut down last year, leaving many parents and expectant parents in a lurch. Customers still owed money for unpaid merchandise, classes and other services have been advised to start a claims process to recoup money by calling the AG's consumer hotline.

"Isis (Parenting) is the jumping-off point," Healey spokeswoman Cyndi Roy Gonzalez said. "If we can do an online claims process for Isis, then our hope is that going forward, when we have settlements of the same nature, we can put in place the same online process."

"Given that we are in 2015, it makes perfect sense," Gonzalez said. "Our whole effort right now is meeting people where they are. So if it's easier for them to do it online, we want to make that accommodation."

Isis Parenting customers who may be entitled to restitution include those who prepaid for classes never held or completed; prepaid for annual memberships after July 27, 2013; or prepaid for consultations never delivered. Customers with unfulfilled gift cards or credits issued after July 27, 2013, also may be entitled to some reimbursement.

23.40 | 0 komentar | Read More