UPDATES: BRIEFLY NOTED

Two African-American employees are suing their employer, Citibank N.A., alleging they were subjected to racist jokes that several bank supervisors sent via electronic mail. The allegations are similar to a race discrimination suit filed by two employees of Morgan Stanley & Co. last month. . . The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing on the Republican leadership's Superfund reform bill, S. 8, on March 5. . . .The president of the Board of Trade in the United Kingdom, Ian Lang, last week issued a consultation paper on limited liability partnerships, which are not permitted in the United Kingdom. Interested parties, such as the Big Six accountants and law firms, have until May 16 to comment on the paper, which is the first step in the United Kingdom toward introducing legislation to limit the liability of partnerships. . . .The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals further reduced to $350,000 a $50 million jury award given in 1995 to a Missouri woman who said she was sexually harassed while working for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (BI, Aug. 7, 1995). A federal judge cut the award to $5 million in 1995. . . .Cypress, Calif.- based PacifiCare Health System's acquisition of Fountain Valley, Calif.-based FHP International Calif. has received final regulatory approval (BI, Aug. 12, 1996). . . . The city of Chicago is protected under the state's sovereign immunity law from compensating businesses for damages they suffered as a result of the 1992 Chicago flood, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled last week. The flood caused an estimated $300 million in insured damage.