MINING

Former Massey Energy CEO must report to prison

A federal appeals court rejected a bid Thursday by former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship (left) to remain free while the court considers an appeal of his conviction related to the deadliest US mine explosion in four decades. A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit announced the ruling in a brief statement the same day Blankenship was scheduled to report to start serving his one-year sentence. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

POULTRY

Workers wear diapers due to fear of asking for bathroom break

A report from international advocacy group Oxfam says poultry workers in the United States labor in a ‘‘climate of fear,’’ with some forced to wear diapers on the job. It says many workers are afraid to ask for permission to go to the bathroom. The report says a worker at a Simmons Foods plant in Arkansas told Oxfam that she and many others resorted to wearing diapers. A Tyson Foods worker says in the report that many workers at his North Carolina plant ‘‘have to urinate in their pants.’’ Simmons says the allegations are ‘‘troubling’’ and the refusal of bathroom breaks isn’t tolerated. Tyson says it’s concerned by the claims, but currently has ‘‘no evidence they’re true.’’ The National Chicken Council says it believes that ‘‘such instances are extremely rare.’’ — ASSOCIATED PRESS

EMPLOYMENT

Applications for unemployment increase

Applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased last week to the highest level since February 2015 as filings surged in New York. Initial jobless claims rose by 20,000 to 294,000 in the week ended May 7, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decline to 270,000. A jump in filings in New York state may reflect striking workers at Verizon Communications Inc., spring break holiday at schools, or a combination of the two. Economists will continue to monitor claims data in the coming weeks before concluding that the labor market is taking a bigger step back. — BLOOMBERG

WORKPLACE

British receptionist wins her fight over flats

A British receptionist who mustered public support after she was sent home from work for refusing to wear heels has been vindicated. Nicola Thorp, 27, had been told in December that her flat shoes were unacceptable in London while on assignment. She was sent home without pay after refusing to change her shoes. But Thorp fought back, creating an online petition asking for it to be made illegal for employers to require female workers to wear heels at work. Simon Pratt, the managing director of the Portico employment agency, said Wednesday night the firm had changed its policy to allow workers to wear flat shoes if they prefer. Thorp’s petition had attracted more than 54,000 signatures before the company’s policy was changed. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

RETAIL

Walmart changes free shipping program to compete with Amazon

Walmart is sharpening its attack on Amazon.com. The world’s largest retailer is trimming its free-shipping pilot program to two days from three, and it’s cutting a dollar off the membership price. Membership is now $49 per year. The Bentonville, Ark., company began testing the new service last year in answer to Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping, a big part of its domination of the retail sector. Amazon membership costs $99 a year, which comes with a bewildering array of perks, including household product subscriptions, one and two hour Prime Now delivery, streaming music and video, photo storage, and more. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

TECHNOLOGY

Layoffs ahead for Sharp workers

Foxconn Technology Group chairman Terry Gou (left) is warning his newly acquired employees at Sharp Corp. of job cuts. After Sharp’s results Thursday, in which the Japanese consumer electronics company posted a second straight annual loss, Gou said in a letter to staff that a “close review of the company’s operations’’ highlighted a “level of inefficiency throughout Sharp,’’ and therefore a “very regrettable need’’ to reduce the workforce, he wrote. The net loss at Osaka-based Sharp widened to 256 billion yen ($2.35 billion) in the year ended in March from a loss of 222.3 billion yen a year earlier. That compares with the 161 billion yen loss expected by analysts. — BLOOMBERG

MARKETS

Mortgage rates hit a low

Mortgage rates plummeted to their lowest levels in three years this week. Weak first-quarter economic growth, persistent global economic worries, and last week’s anemic jobs report all contributed to pushing down bond yields. Because mortgage rates tend to follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury, home loan rates retreated. According to the latest data released Thursday by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., the 30-year fixed-rate average sank to a low not seen since May 2013, falling to 3.57 percent with an average 0.5 point. It was 3.61 percent a week ago and 3.85 percent a year ago. The 30-year fixed rate has dropped 44 basis points since the first of the year. The 15-year fixed-rate average tumbled to 2.81 percent with an average 0.5 point. It was 2.86 percent a week ago and 3.07 percent a year ago. — WASHINGTON POST

FAST FOOD

McDonald’s to test fresh beef in Texas

McDonald’s says it’s testing fresh beef at 14 restaurants in Dallas, but says it’s too early to say whether fresh beef could replace its frozen patties nationally. The Oak Brook, Ill. company says the test is limited to its quarter pounder patties. The test comes as McDonald’s Corp. fights to turn around its business, which had suffered slumping sales until recently. The company has said it’s looking at improving its core menu items. McDonald’s has more than 14,000 locations in the United States, making it by far the biggest burger chain. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

TECHNOLOGY

France mulls curbs on work e-mails after hours

After-hours and weekend work e-mails may soon become illegal in France. A bill that prevents companies of 50 or more employees from sending e-mails after typical work hours passed the French lower parliamentary house earlier this week. The case against after-work e-mails is that they can cause high levels of stress among employees. ‘‘All the studies show there is far more work-related stress today than there used to be and that the stress is constant,’’ said Benoit Hamon, a Socialist member of Parliament, to the BBC. ‘‘The texts, the messages, the e-mails -- they colonize the life of the individual to the point where he or she eventually breaks down.’’ The bill will go to the Senate next, where it will be reviewed, before going back to the National Assembly for possible final passage. It’s been highly contested since its introduction, specifically for its legislative rollbacks to the country’s prized labor code that protects employee rights. Despite the the bill’s controversy, the after-work e-mail ban has been largely popular among President Francois Hollande’s Socialist Party. — WASHINGTON POST