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Business news briefs: Rite Aid settles suit over unpaid overtime
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Rite Aid Corp. has agreed to pay up to $20.9 million in a settlement of a federal class action case related to unpaid overtime. U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III approved the settlement, which could affect 6,100 people in 31 states, including Pennsylvania. The federal case dates to December 2008 and was filed originally in the Middle District of Pennsylvania by a Rite Aid assistant store manager from Georgia who alleged she was denied overtime payments she was entitled to under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Rite Aid admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.
The Spanish wind-turbine manufacturer Gamesa plans to furlough 73 workers at its Cambria County plant in September. The company said it is hopeful the furloughs will last only about 10 weeks or so. Gamesa says the plant, which opened in 2006, will focus on making blades for foreign wind farms unless and until the U.S. tax credit is extended.
Companies placed more orders with U.S. factories in May from April, demanding more computers, machinery and other equipment that signal investment plans. Still, factory orders have fallen 2.5 percent over the past five months from their post-recession high hit in December. Factory orders increased 0.7 percent in May from April, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Core capital goods, which include machinery and computers, rose 2.1 percent.
Automakers sold nearly 1.3 million cars and trucks in June, up 22 percent from the same month last year. Chrysler posted a 20 percent gain, its best June in five years, and sales soared 34 percent at Volkswagen, which is on track for its best year in the U.S. since 1973. If sales continue at the current pace, it will be the industry's best year since 2007. General Motors' sales rose 16 percent and Ford's overall sales rose 7 percent. Toyota's sales rose 60 percent for the month while Honda's climbed 49 percent, in comparison to last year when both companies had little inventory at U.S. dealerships because of the earthquake in Japan.
U.S. lawmakers must work quickly to avoid sharp tax increases and spending cuts that could throw the economy into recession next year, an international lending organization said Tuesday. The International Monetary Fund also warned in its annual report of the U.S. economy that Europe's debt crisis could slow U.S. growth, which it forecast at 2 percent this year and 2.3 percent in 2013, roughly in line with forecasts by the Federal Reserve and private economists.
Mylan Inc. said it launched 5 mg. desloratadine tablets, the generic version of Schering-Plough's Clarinex allergy medication. Mylan also said it is beginning shipments of the generic version of Noven Therapeutic's 300 mg. extended-release Lithobid tablets, used to treat bipolar disorder, after receiving final regulatory approval.
First Published July 4, 2012 12:21 am
