Court: Tyson must
pay workers to dress
A federal appeals panel has ruled against Tyson Foods in a case where Kansas workers said they were not paid for putting on and taking off protective clothing.
Tyson will have to pay the workers $502,000 for violations under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Kansas Wage Protection Act. The number of employees was not in the court file.
Although Tyson provided workers with four to seven minutes pay for putting on and taking off protective clothing from 2003 to 2010, workers testified it took between five to 12 minutes per shift to change clothes, the panel said. Relying on an internal study conducted by Tyson, the panel said workers were underpaid by 30 minutes per shift on average.
The panel also awarded the workers' attorneys $3.4 million in compensation, an amount Tyson questioned but the judges affirmed.
-- Brian Fanney
Oxford American
solicits funds online
The Oxford American magazine, the award-winning publication founded in 1992 in Oxford, Miss., is asking for donations from readers and supporters to help pay for the magazine's annual music edition.
The magazine, which has offices in Little Rock and is published by the University of Central Arkansas, announced a crowdfunding Kickstarter campaign starting Sept. 2 to help fund production of the magazine's annual music issue and accompanying compact disc. Kickstarter, at www.kickstarter.com, describes itself as the world's largest funding platform for creative projects.
The magazine has relied in the past on underwriters to cover the expenses related to the music issues and CDs. This year, readers and listeners are asked to donate by contributing to the Kickstarter campaign. Donors will be recognized in the pages of the Oxford American.
The magazine hopes to raise $20,000 to $25,000 for publishing of the issue, associate publisher Ray Wittenberg said.
-- David Smith
Arkansas Index rises
3.45, ends at 352.88
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 3.45 to 352.88 on Thursday.
"U.S. stocks continued to climb on Thursday, with the S&P 500 setting an all-time high as the index approaches the 2000 level," said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Murphy USA fell 2.4 percent in light trading.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 08/22/2014