U.S. investigating airlines over slow refunds during pandemic
The Transportation Department says in a new report that it investigated 20 airlines over failures to issue prompt refunds to customers, and 18 of those probes are still going.
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Federal mandate takes vaccine decision off employers’ hands
Companies won’t have to worry about being sued, since it’s a government mandate and not one from the employer.
TSA doubles fines for refusing to wear masks at airports, other transportation settings
People who refuse to comply with a federal mandate that requires them to wear masks in airports, and on trains, buses and in other public transportation settings will face stiffer penalties from the Transportation Security Agency.
Biden to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for larger U.S. companies
President Joe Biden announced sweeping new COVID vaccine mandates Thursday designed to affect tens of millions of Americans. He also adopted an antagonistic tone toward the unvaccinated Thursday, placing blame on those refusing to get shots for harming other Americans.
Indiana reports 50 more COVID-19 deaths as cases, hospitalizations surge
More than a third (33.6%) of the state’s intensive care unit beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, the Indiana State Department of Health said on Thursday.
Crushed by pandemic, conventions mount cautious return
A lot is riding on the revival of in-person meetings. Prior to the pandemic, conferences and trade shows generated more than $1 trillion in direct spending and attracted 1.5 billion attendees annually around the world, according to the Events Industry Council, a trade group.
Biden expected to order all federal workers to be vaccinated, with no testing option
The pressure on President Biden is increasing as the public health outlook worsens. The seven-day average of coronavirus deaths across the United States was 1,524 as of Wednesday, compared with 509 one month ago
COVID-19 patients strain Indiana hospitals as virus surges
State health officials have maintained that if more Hoosiers don’t get vaccinated and wear masks, virus spread and hospitalizations will worsen though at least early October. They’ve also attributed the recent surge, in part, to students’ return to schools.
Tech firms find remote work was easier to begin than end
Technology companies that led the charge into remote work as the pandemic unfurled are confronting a new challenge: how, when and even whether they should bring long-isolated employees back to offices that have been designed for teamwork.
Cummins delays return-to-office plans until early 2022
The engine maker confirmed Wednesday it is pushing its return-to-office timeline to early next year as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations surge in Indiana and the nation.
Indiana reports 86 more COVID-19 deaths
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID ticked down from 2,518 on Monday to 2,513 on Tuesday. That number is up from 1,109 a month ago and 418 two months ago.
IndyGo offering month of free rides to vaccination clinic participants
Participants will receive a 31-day IndyGo paper pass at the clinic immediately following their COVID-19 vaccination.
As experts debate boosters, some vaccinated people are calling their own shots
Booster confusion appears to have reached epidemic proportions amid a flood of new scientific studies that are not always consistent with one another. “Fully vaccinated” is suddenly a squishy concept.
Nearly a third of state’s intensive care unit beds full of COVID patients
The Indiana State Department of Health on Tuesday said statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are continuing to soar, hitting their highest mark since early January.
Beech Grove to pay employees $50 to get COVID vaccinations
Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley said “it is imperative all of us who are eligible get vaccinated to protect the health and safety of our community, particularly our children and our neighbors who are immunocompromised.”
Extra jobless benefits come to an end for about 8.9M Americans
Millions of jobless Americans lost their unemployment benefits on Monday, leaving only a handful of economic support programs for those who are still being hit financially by the year-and-a-half-old coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. booster plan faces complications, some might miss Sept. 20
President Joe Biden’s plans to start delivery of booster shots by Sept. 20 for most Americans who received the COVID-19 vaccines are facing new complications that could delay the availability of third doses for those who received the Moderna vaccine, administration officials said Friday.
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 climb past 2,400
Indiana reported another 20 deaths from the virus, raising the cumulative total to 14,121. The seven-day moving average of new deaths remained at 18 per day, the health department said.
U.S. hiring slows to unexpected low after two strong months
Even though hiring was relatively tepid in August, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.2%, from 5.4% in July.
Companies loosen job requirements, but challenges remain
In a desperation for hired hands, companies have loosened hiring restrictions on everything from age to level of experience. The changing standards may have helped boost hiring this summer, even as many companies complained they couldn’t find all the workers they need.