RALEIGH — Insurance giant MetLife Inc. said Thursday it will move 2,600 jobs from offices in four Northeast states and California to lower-cost locations in two North Carolina cities, while also getting tax breaks and other incentives that could reach $100 million.
The insurer is shifting the jobs from Lowell and Boston, Mass.; Somerset, N.J.; Bloomfield, Conn.; Johnstown, Pa.; Warwick, R.I.; and Aliso Viejo and Irvine, Calif., MetLife spokesman John Calagna said. The positions will be consolidated in Charlotte, which will become the U.S. headquarters for MetLife’s retail business, and at a global technology and operations hub in Cary. The company’s retail segment sells and services life, disability, auto and other insurance.
MetLife employs about 23,000 U.S. administrative staffers in about 30 locations, mostly in the Northeast, Calagna said. The consolidation will allow teams to work together in the same location while cutting MetLife’s real estate presence, he said.
“What’s happening is there are 2,600 jobs in these locations that either we’re closing or we’re reducing. All of those positions are being transferred to North Carolina,” Calagna said.
The new jobs will have average salaries of nearly $82,000 a year. The company had about 140 workers in Charlotte before Thursday’s announcement.

Bill seeks to speed up report of missing child
RALEIGH (AP) — Legislators are seeking passage of a law making it a felony when parents knowingly fail to report to police their child has been missing for at least 24 hours.
The House gave unanimous approval Thursday to the bill that also would create a misdemeanor if any other person reasonably suspects a child may be in danger but fails to talk to law enforcement within a reasonable time.
The bill is named “Caylee’s Law,” referring to Florida toddler Caylee Anthony, who wasn’t reported missing until 31 days after she vanished in 2008 and had died. Caylee’s mother was acquitted of murder but convicted of lying to investigators.
The bill now goes to the Senate.

UNC gets 20 days to provide sex assault details
RALEIGH (AP) — The federal office investigating allegations about the way the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill handles sexual assault cases is seeking reams of information from the school within 20 days, a deadline that campus officials say they’ll work to meet.
The Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education outlined its demands in a letter to UNC-CH dated March 1, setting a March 21 deadline.
Among the documents requested are those regarding policies, procedures, training and grievance procedures for sexual assault complaints. The office also wants a spreadsheet describing all student complaints about sexual assault, including details on whether it was formal or informal, whether the school investigated, who investigated and whether the assault was on campus or off.
The federal office also wants to know how UNC-CH distributes and publicizes its policy on sexual assault and evidence of that information, including website links or copies of flyers that the school distributed.
The civil rights office will address separately allegations of disability discrimination and retaliation, the letter says.

Senate bill eliminates mandate for toll roads
RALEIGH (AP) — A bill to eliminate the mandate on transportation officials to build three toll-road projects has cleared the state Senate, but it’s unclear if the House will go along.
The Senate gave its final approval Thursday to changes to a House bill that originally told state engineers to review an alternate but unlikely route for a stretch of Raleigh’s Outer Beltline so federal funds can flow again.
An addition to the bill by Senate Republicans deleted the Garden Parkway, Cape Fear Skyway and Mid-Currituck Bridge from state law authorizing their construction. Sen. Bill Rabon of Southport said the projects aren’t dead but that DOT should examine them using similar standards for other road construction to determine their fate.
The House can now accept changes or seek a compromise.

Lawsuit over teen who crept onto jet tossed out
CHARLOTTE (AP) — A North Carolina judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Charlotte, its airport and an airline by the family of a teen who apparently fell to his death from the wheel well of a jet approaching Boston.
Superior Court Judge Hugh Lewis ruled 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale of Charlotte was negligent in his actions and the city is not responsible for people who breach security.
Tisdale’s body was found Nov. 15, 2010, a day after he left his home in Charlotte. The body was so badly damaged that Massachusetts authorities could not identify the remains. Tisdale’s body was identified from a hall pass with his name on it.
Authorities said Tisdale probably sneaked onto the tarmac of Charlotte Douglas International Airport and climbed into the wheel well of US Airways Flight 1176, bound for Boston.
The lawsuit by Tisdale’s family in November said the city, the airport and the airline should have done more to prevent Tisdale from getting onto the tarmac and into the plane’s wheel well.

State fair admission going up a dollar to $9 at gate
RALEIGH (AP) — People heading to the 2013 N.C. State Fair may need another dollar to get in.
In a conference call Thursday, the N.C. Board of Agriculture voted 7-0 to approve a $1 increase in admission prices. The increase is subject to final approval by the board later this year.
Under the proposal, adult admission would increase to $7 for advance sales and $9 at the gate. Children ages 6 through 12 would cost $4 at the gate, with a $1 discount for advance purchases. Children under 6 and adults 65 and over still would get in free.
State Fair Manager Wesley Wyatt said the increase would allow the fair to keep up with rising operating expenses and still make improvements to the fairgrounds. The State Fair does not receive tax dollars.

No go for charter school after plagiarism
RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina school officials on Thursday withdrew their preliminary approval for a Charlotte charter school to open in August because it copied big chunks of its operating plans from another school’s application.
The state Board of Education voted without comment to deny the bid by Cameron Creek Charter School. Two dozen other new charter schools were approved to open for the next academic year.