Disney pays $43 million to settle suit over women's pay | Geico and Travelers fined over data breach | Lupin recalls over 6 lakh bottles of drugs

In today’s Portfolio Intelligence Daily:?

• Disney pays $43 million to settle suit over women's pay?
• Geico and Travelers fined over data breach
• Lupin recalls over 6 lakh bottles of hypertension drug in the U.S.

Our analyst team curates these summaries from Auquan’s Intelligence Engine, which uses generative AI and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) to uncover material non-financial insights at scale to support deal sourcing, due diligence, risk monitoring, and compliance.

Industry trends:

• The magic of RAG is in the retrieval (InfoWorld) — Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and AI agents are transforming how AI can automate knowledge work in the enterprise.
• Tackling Information Overload in the Age of AI [private credit] (TDWI Upside)
• Why AI is finally catching up with financial services (Maddyness)

Disney pays $43 million to settle suit over women's pay?

Disney has agreed to pay $43.3 million to settle a lawsuit concerning gender pay disparities affecting approximately 9,000 female employees in California. This lawsuit, initiated by LaRonda Rasmussen in 2019, highlighted significant pay inequities between male and female employees at the company.

• Disney will pay $43.3 million to resolve claims that its female employees earned $150 million less than their male counterparts over an eight-year period. The settlement is pending judicial approval in a California state court

• As part of the settlement, Disney will hire a labor economist for three years to assess and ensure pay equity among full-time, non-union employees below the vice president level, addressing any disparities identified during this review.?

• The lawsuit was sparked when LaRonda Rasmussen discovered that male colleagues in similar positions were earning significantly more, including one with less experience making $20,000 more annually. This prompted her to file a complaint that eventually included thousands of other female employees.?

• Disney attempted to dismiss the class action lawsuit, arguing that each woman should file individual claims. However, a judge ruled that the case could proceed as a class action, emphasizing the systemic nature of the alleged discrimination.?

Select timeline

• Nov 26, 2024 | Disney Pays $43 Million To Settle Lawsuit Over Gender Pay Disparity (Timesnownews)
• Nov 26, 2024 | Disney Reaches $43 Million Settlement in Women's Pay Discrimination Lawsuit (Lawyer Monthly)
• Nov 25, 2024 | Disney Settles Pay-Equity Class Action Lawsuit for $43 Million (The Wrap)

Geico and Travelers fined over data breach

New York State has imposed significant fines on Geico and Travelers, two well-known insurance companies, for failing to protect customer data amidst a series of cyberattacks. The breaches exposed sensitive information of over 120,000 residents, prompting state authorities to take action against the companies.

• Geico has been fined $9.75 million, while Travelers will pay $1.55 million, totaling $11.3 million in penalties for inadequate data security measures that led to the breaches.

• The data breaches compromised personal information, including driver’s license numbers and birth dates, affecting approximately 116,000 Geico customers and around 4,000 from Travelers.

• Investigations revealed that both companies failed to implement necessary cybersecurity protocols and did not comply with state regulations designed to protect consumer data during a surge of cyberattacks related to fraudulent unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic.?

• Both Geico and Travelers have committed to enhancing their cybersecurity practices in response to the findings. Geico stated it proactively reported the breach and has since allocated resources to strengthen its cybersecurity defenses.?

Select timeline

• Nov 25, 2024 | Geico and Travelers Fined $11.3 Million for NY Data Breaches (PYMNTS)
• Nov 25, 2024 | New York Fines GEICO $9.75M, Travelers $1.5M Over Auto Insurance Cyber Breaches (Security Week)
• Nov 25, 2024 | Letitia James Hits Geico, Travelers Companies with Over $11M in Fines (News Week)

Lupin recalls over 6 lakh bottles of hypertension drug in the U.S.

Lupin Pharmaceuticals has initiated a significant recall of its hypertension drug in the U.S., impacting over 600,000 bottles, in response to safety concerns raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• Lupin is recalling 616,506 bottles of Ramipril capsules, which are used to treat high blood pressure. The recall includes various strengths: 2.5 mg, 5 mg, and 10 mg.

• The recall was prompted by deviations from current good manufacturing practices (CGMP), specifically due to sourcing the active pharmaceutical ingredient from an unapproved vendor.

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified this as a Class II voluntary recall, indicating that the use of the affected products may lead to temporary or reversible health consequences, although serious adverse effects are unlikely.

• The recall was initiated on October 23, 2024, and it affects products manufactured at Lupin's facility in Goa, India.

Select timeline

• Nov 25, 2024 | Lupin recalls over 6 lakh bottles of hypertension drug in US USFDA (The Week In)
• Nov 25, 2024 | Lupin recalls over 600,000 bottles of hypertension drug in US: USFDA (The Business Standard)
• Nov 25, 2024 | India's Lupin recalls more than 600K bottles of blood pressure med over questionable API source (Fierce Pharma)

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