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FTC Ban on Worker Noncompete Agreements Delayed by Judge

Article 0 Comments A federal judge delayed implementation of the US Federal Trade Commission’s near-total ban on noncompete agreements, the first salvo in the high-stakes legal fight over how much freedom workers should have to switch jobs within an industry. US District Judge Ada Brown in Dallas sided with the US Chamber of Commerce and a Texas-based tax firm that claimed the agency lacks authority to craft rules defining unfair methods of competition. The groups warned the unprecedented rule would invalidate 30 million employment contracts in a move that “amounts to a vast overhaul of the national economy.” The ban was set to take effect Sept. 4, but it will now be on hold until August while the judge considers the merits of the lawsuit by the groups that seek to permanently strike the rule from the books. Brown said in her ruling Wednesday that the challenge to the measure is “likely to succeed on the merits,” and that the public interest weighed in favor of temporarily blocking the rule. The FTC approved the new rule in April, arguing that noncompete agreements unfairly block workers from switching jobs and undermine labor competition. The ban is backed by labor organizations AFL-CIO...

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How High Earners Can Maximize This Business Tax Deduction Before It Disappears

What You Need to Know The 20% deduction for qualified business income can greatly reduce tax liability for partnerships, S corps and other pass-through entities. Income restrictions limit the availability of the deduction for higher-earning service businesses. The tax treatment is set to expire entirely after 2025 if Congress does not legislate an extension. The 2017 tax overhaul fundamentally changed the tax treatment of pass-through business entities through the enactment of Section 199A. The 20% deduction for qualified business income can greatly reduce tax liability for the owners of partnerships, S corps and other pass-through entities. That said, the deduction isn’t available to all businesses. Income restrictions serve to limit the availability for higher-earning pass-throughs who are classified as service businesses.  There are steps that taxpayers can take to maximize the value of the deduction — and many taxpayers may be forgetting that Section 199A is scheduled to expire entirely after 2025 if Congress does not legislate an extension. Taxpayers interested in maximizing the tax treatment of qualified business income while simultaneously funding their retirements should act quickly to take advantage of this potentially limited deduction. Business clients may be overlooking valuable tax savings if their circumstances have changed since...

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JPMorgan’s Kolanovic to Exit Amid String of Poor Stock Calls

Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief market strategist and co-head of global research, is leaving the bank, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News. Kolanovic, who has been at JPMorgan for 19 years, is “exploring other opportunities,” the memo stated. Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, the firm’s chief equity strategist, will become chief market strategist. Co-head of global research Hussein Malik will be the sole head of global research. Stephen Dulake and Nicholas Rosato will co-lead fundamental research, a new team that brings together credit and equity research. A JPMorgan spokesperson declined to comment. Kolanovic, Lakos-Bujas, Malik, Dulake and Rosato didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The move follows a disastrous two-year stretch of stock-market calls by Kolanovic.

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State Farm Seeking Large Rate Increases in Wildfire-Prone California

Article 0 Comments State Farm has applied for large rate increases in California, months after the carrier got rate approvals of 7% and 20% earlier this year—adding fuel to a burning homeowners crisis in a state that’s seen an increasing number of carriers pullback or raise rates in the last year. The Bloomington, Illinois-based insurer, the largest in California, insuring nearly one-in-five homes in the state, requested a 30% rate increase for its homeowners line, a 52% rate increase for renters and 36% rate increase for condo coverage. A growing number of carriers have grown disenchanted with California as larger and more frequent wildfires rear up in the state’s increasingly longer wildfire season. The season ahead doesn’t look like it will give much relief. So far, it’s been far busier for firefighters than last year—and the state is heading into a week of triple digit temperatures and a holiday with fireworks. A CalFire official on Monday said there has been a 1600% increase in acres burned this year compared to last year in the same timeframe, and “if the future is any indication of what has occurred already this year, it’s going to be a challenging season for firefighters across...

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Marshall Elected Chair of Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission

Article 0 Comments Wesley G. Marshall has been elected to a three-year term as chairman of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWC), effective July 1, 2024. He succeeds Commissioner Robert A. Rapaport, whose term ended June 30, 2024. Marshall, of Richmond, was appointed to the commission in 2012. He also served a term as chairman from 2015-2018. From 1988 to 2012, he was an attorney in private practice, primarily representing plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, employment matters, and other civil litigation. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia. Wesley G. Marshall Marshall serves on the executive committee of the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators (SAWCA), the board of directors of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) and the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary (NAWCJ), and was a founding member of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation American Inn of Court. In 2015, he was inducted as a fellow in the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. The Commission The VWCC, established in 1918, is an independent judicial and administrative state agency that oversees the workers’ compensation system for employees, employers, and insurers. VWC interprets and applies the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act and resolves claims through...

Rival Launches RPM, The First AI-Driven Insurance Intelligence Platform 0

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Rival Launches RPM, The First AI-Driven Insurance Intelligence Platform

Toronto, ON (July 2, 2024) — Rival Insurance Technology, a leader in insurance management systems and connectivity solutions, is excited to announce the launch of its latest innovation, the Rival Platform & Marketplace (RPM). This groundbreaking, AI-driven web application is set to transform the way Brokers and Managing General Agents (MGAs) operate, offering a completely reimagined user interface, intelligent business insights, and unmatched broker-to-MGA connectivity. As the first of its kind, RPM introduces a new product category to the insurance technology space: the Insurance Intelligence Platform (IIP). RPM is an open, intelligent platform and marketplace, making it the first enterprise solution tailored for both consolidators and independent brokerages. With RPM, brokers of all sizes can harness the power of artificial intelligence, setting a new standard for the future of the industry. Key Features: Journal: Automatically populates relevant business insights from across the organization, providing actionable information to drive decision-making. Insights & Connections: Generates valuable insights specific to the business from across the web and intelligently from the business data. Facilitates growth through connections made via the Store. Store: Connects retail brokers and MGAs with products from Rival partners and third parties, fostering seamless partnerships and new business opportunities. Apps: Stores...

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Only a Bear-Market ‘Shock’ Can Upend Tech: JPMorgan’s Kelly

What You Need to Know It would take an extreme blow to market sentiment to derail the flow of cash into the Big Tech names soaring in 2024, the strategist says. Profit growth for these stocks is expected to slow, while the remaining S&P 500 companies are poised to see earnings accelerate, forecasters say. For long-term investors, Kelly recommends seeking opportunities outside of Big Tech, given how stretched those stocks’ valuations are. The outsized sway of technology giants over U.S. stocks is likely to persist, absent a major market rout along the lines of what investors endured in 2022, says JPMorgan Asset Management’s David Kelly. The firm’s chief global market strategist is among Wall Street pros who expect earnings growth in the S&P 500 Index will broaden beyond the tech behemoths by year-end. But in his view, it likely won’t be enough to close the wide performance gap between those megacap shares and the rest of the U.S. equity benchmark. That means an extreme blow to market sentiment would be needed to derail the flow of cash into the soaring Big Tech names that have led the market’s advance in 2024, said Kelly, whose firm manages about $3 trillion. Two years ago,...

Resilience Doubles Cyber Insurance Limits to $20 Million Through Partnership with Lloyd’s Insurance Facility 0

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Resilience Doubles Cyber Insurance Limits to $20 Million Through Partnership with Lloyd’s Insurance Facility

Syndicate Agreement Expands and Complements Existing US offering San Francisco, CA (July 1, 2024) – Resilience, the leading cyber risk solution company, has doubled the cyber insurance limits it can offer to clients in the US to $20 million per client. This announcement follows the launch of new features and capabilities that enable enterprises to continuously manage the mitigation and transfer of cyber risk. The agreement to expand Resilience’s limit capability was brokered by Lockton Re and utilizes Resilience’s existing coverholder partnership with Lloyd’s (AM Best: A). Resilience previously offered $10 million in limits, on a primary or excess basis in the US, with an A+ AM Best-rated partner. The additional $10 million in excess limits supported by underwriters at Lloyd’s, can be deployed in sequential or ventilated layers above Resilience’s existing $10 million limit capability, up to $20 million in total. “Our ability to offer up to $20 million in limits, along with Resilience’s industry-leading integrated cybersecurity and cyber risk solutions, will help our clients and broker partners build insurance towers efficiently, while also increasing the ability to deliver much-needed loss prevention solutions to clients,” said Mario Vitale, president of Resilience. “Resilience’s leadership in the cyber insurance sector stems...

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Ohio Company to Pay $23K Over Disability Discrimination Suit

Article 0 Comments Pearl Interactive Network, Inc., a Columbus, Ohio-based telecommunications company, resolved a charge of disability discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency’s Cleveland Field Office announced. During the EEOC’s investigation, the agency found that Pearl Interactive Network discriminated against an employee when it denied her a reasonable accommodation, unlawfully placed her on unpaid leave due to her disability, and improperly disclosed her medical information. Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Following a reasonable-cause finding after the investigation, the EEOC, Pearl Interactive Network and the employee engaged in pre-litigation conciliation, which resulted in a conciliation agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will pay the employee $3,212 in back pay and interest, as well as $20,000 in compensatory damages. The company also agreed to provide a neutral job reference for the employee. The agreement also includes substantial injunctive relief measures. Pearl Interactive Network will conduct comprehensive ADA training for managerial and human resources employees, focusing on the interactive process for accommodation requests. Additionally, the company will review and redistribute its anti-discrimination policy to all employees, emphasizing the confidentiality of medical information, its accommodation processes, and its procedure...

15 Best Value Public Colleges: 2024 0

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15 Best Value Public Colleges: 2024

Start Slideshow The Princeton Review’s just-released list of the best value colleges in the United States comprises 134 private and 75 public schools, based on its surveys of administrators at 650 institutions in the 2023–24 academic year. Related: 14 Best Value Public Colleges: Princeton Review, 2023 Researchers analyzed data on school academics, cost/financial aid and career services, as well as on student debt and graduation rates. They also factored in data from its surveys of students attending the schools, and data from PayScale.com’s surveys of alumni about their starting and midcareer salaries and job satisfaction.  They then used some 40 data points to tally Return on Investment ratings, which determined the selection of schools on the list. Various data points from the surveys were used to tally the project’s ranking lists. The Princeton Review, a tutoring, test prep and college admissions services company, is not affiliated with Princeton University. See the accompanying gallery for the 15 best value public colleges in 2024, according to The Princeton Review. Start Slideshow