Are you gals ready for a rumble tonight?

A year ago this week, the Supreme Court decision to strike down a class action gender bias suit against Walmart had a sweeping and symbolic impact on women’s rights.

That ruling, and a host of other actions including moves by religious employers to derail contraceptive coverage for workers, a recent legislation defeat of pay equity legislation for women, and the rise in the number of pregnancy discrimination claims have all culminated into what many women advocates call a “War on Women.”

On Thursday, it was time to rally the troops, maintained Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, during a luncheon with a focus on stopping the war with more advocacy and also legislation to turn back the high court’s Walmart ruling.

“Who would have thought that in 2012, we’d be arguing over providing contraception for women, or debating the idea of equal pay,” Ness told a 1,500 member audience of mainly women gathered in the Washington Hilton including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who gave the keynote address. “Yet here we are.” (more…)

There have been undercurrents of weight discrimination in the workplace for years, but a Texas hospital decided to go anti-fat full throttle.

A Texas newspaper uncovered the story recently reporting about a fat-adverse Texas hospital — Citizens Medical Center — and it’s unheard of policy of refusing to hire anyone with a body mass index of more than 35.

The policy, according to The Texas Tribune, states:

… an employee’s physique “should fit with a representational image or specific mental projection of the job of a healthcare professional,” including an appearance “free from distraction” for hospital patients.

“The majority of our patients are over 65, and they have expectations that cannot be ignored in terms of personal appearance,” hospital chief executive David Brown said in an interview. “We have the ability as an employer to characterize our process and to have a policy that says what’s best for our business and for our patients.”

The hospital’s policy may cause outrage, but it’s an extreme example of an obesity bias that has been percolating in the nation’s workforces, starting with seemingly benign measures such as encouraging workers to walk at lunch. (more…)

As the Supreme Court reviews President Obama’s health care reform initiative, it’s a good time to look at the reality of what workers face when it comes to medical coverage in this country.

Whether you agree with the health care overhaul or not, there’s consensus that things can’t continue the way they have been when it comes to medical care and insurance.

It’s not a good story for anyone. If you’re lucky enough to have a job that covers health care there’s a good chance you’re paying more this year for less coverage. And if you don’t have any insurance through an employer, you’re likely strapped because of the high premiums for individuals or you’ve decided to go without coverage.

It seems most of us are living on the medical edge, according to a report. (more…)

You’re all costing your employers too much money in health care costs and they’re done being nice about encouraging you to get healthier.

The wife of a Las Vegas casino dealer recently wrote us at MSNBC upset that her husband was asked by his managers at the hotel where he works to take a biometric health assessment test. Such tests typically include a health professional taking an employee’s blood and then having it tested for an array of ailments.

The reader wrote that her husband would be fined $500 if he refused to take the test. Such assessments, she added, were “an egregious violation of my husband’s medical privacy.” She’s contacted the Nevada Department of Labor and the ACLU in order to get help to fight the requirement.

Unfortunately, the couple may not have a legal leg to stand on if the dealer doesn’t allow them to prick his finger.

About 70 percent of larger employers now conduct employee health assessments, and more and more are considering taking the stick approach to workers who refuse to take such exams. (more…)

You might want to think twice before you have a Big Mac for lunch, or take a cigarette break.

Companies are beefing up their efforts to make you healthier and they’re taking out the big guns. You’re costing employers too much money for medical coverage and increasingly firms are imposing penalties on workers who don’t get with the healthy program.

But is it legal or a smart business move? (more…)

Isn’t it ironic that there are millions of people desperate to get health insurance coverage, yet many workers who have coverage don’t seem to care enough about it?

I got some surprising numbers this week about open enrollment season. You know, the time you’re supposed to go over the health insurance options your employer offers and decide what’s right for you.

Many of you don’t even know the season is upon us or when your company’s open enrollment begins. That’s according to a new survey by eHealthInsurance and Kelton Research.

The study found that:

* 45 percent of those surveyed do NOT KNOW when their company’s open enrollment period takes place.
* Over half (53 percent) said they will simply stick with the plan they currently have, going on auto-pilot at a time when they should be exploring options.
* Less than 47 percent know what they actually contribute from their salary to their premiums.
* One quarter (25%) of those with employer-based coverage report that the longest period of time they’ve ever spent reviewing their options during open enrollment was less than thirty minutes.

This is disturbing because this year employees are going to get an unhappy surprise when they finally decide to pay attention to health insurance coverage: what’s covered and what it costs. (more…)

I felt a burst of excitement this morning when I heard about the creation of 50,000 new jobs. But a big womp womp soon followed when I found out the job creator was McDonald’s.

I don’t want to look a gift job horse in the mouth, but thousands of low-paying fast food jobs does not make for a robust job-market, at least for people looking for a middle-class life, good health benefits and job security. And don’t get me started on the working conditions.

The jobs for a manager, A MANAGER, pay less (more…)

Tonight, about 70 million Americans are expected to celebrate Valentine’s at a restaurant. And that’s why one group supporting restaurant workers chose today to release a disturbing study that may make you feel uneasy about the filet mignon and crème brûlée you order.

Romance among the under-paid dishwashers, cooks, and bus boys and girls isn’t so sweet; and it’s even worse when you think about how many of these workers have no paid sick days and will end up clocking in today when they’re sick. Yes, they may be sneezing on your romance-laden entrees.

You may get sick as a result, but the sickness that’s endemic in the restaurant industry has a much more serious impact, socially and economically, than an amorous couple getting the flu. (more…)

Carly Fiorina, a candidate for Senate in California, doesn’t have to worry about taking time off for being sick because her years of service at Hewlett Packard left her a very rich woman. She was hospitalized Tuesday for an infection related to breast cancer surgery and is expected to return today to the campaign trail.

Kara Jorud, pictured here with her daughter, had worked at craft giant Michaels in Florida. But when she had a double mastectomy and tried to take some time off to recuperate she was fired as a result.

I share these stories with you to make a point about why it makes sense for people like Fiorina not to want “burdensome” regulations on employers that do things like provide paid time off and health care. (She got a $21 million severance package.) But people like Jorud want such government mandates to make sure they aren’t thrown aside like yesterday’s garbage.

This is not a Republican or Democratic point I’m trying to make. Few in either party have done a lot to support moves to provide paid time off to workers who need it to care for themselves or their family members. (more…)

“The ranks of the uninsured are swelling!” the radio, TV, the Web and newspapers are shrieking today. Many are shocked that the number of uninsured increased to over 50 million last year, according to a Census Bureau report released yesterday.

But it shouldn’t be a total shock. Millions of people are unemployed and have lost their employer-sponsored coverage. It’s not like regular people living on a $300 unemployment check can afford $1,000-plus a month to buy coverage for themselves and their families.

And affording COBRA — the program that lets people buy into their old coverage at a hefty cost — is out of the reach of many who don’t have jobs. It was a bit more affordable thanks to discounts from the federal government, but those have expired for the recently jobless.

Where is the safety net for hard working Americans? There is a pretty frayed one when it comes to coverage for medical care. And things are only getting worse this year. (more…)