Unemployment Claims at Record High

April 26, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Initial claims for unemployment insurance increased by 4.6% from the previous week's total of 390,000 to a new five-year record of 408,000.

The more closely watched four-week moving average increased by 10,750 to 394,000 from the previous week’s average of 383,750, reflecting the ongoing weakening of the US labor market.

States with the most initial claims for the week ending April 7 were in Hawaii, where numbers increased by 2,782, followed by New Jersey, where workers were laid off in the trade, service and transportation industries.

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The largest decrease in initial claims came from North Carolina, Texas and Alabama.

Who is Claiming Unemployment?

To be eligible for unemployment benefits, claimants must:

  • meet state requirements for wages earned or time worked during a one year period prior to the claim
  • have become unemployed through no fault of their own
  • be physically and mentally capable of working every day of the week for which benefits are claimed
  • be available for work
  • actively seek employment.

Viagra Coverage Generates Discrimination Charge

April 25, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - An American Airlines flight attendant has filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming her employee health plan is discriminatory because it does not cover reproductive care for women - but covers Viagra for male employees.

Martina Alexander, 36, claims that after being refused coverage for infertility treatments in 1999 she learned her health plan does not cover pap smears or birth control pills, but does cover Viagra for impotent male employees.

Her claim contends that American’s policy constitutes sex, pregnancy and disability discrimination.

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Gus Whitcomb, a spokesman for the 110,000-employee airline, said American’s three basic employee health plans cover all “medically necessary” procedures or medications, according to the Associated Press.  That can include drugs, such as Viagra, prescribed by a physician to treat male impotence.

In December, the EEOC found that excluding contraceptives from health plans discriminates against women, although the decision directly affected only two women.

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