Wal-Mart’s $87,500 to settle suit in N.M.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
will pay $87,500 to settle with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission a lawsuit over unlawful retaliation in Albuquerque, N.M. The complaint was filed by a brother and sister, Robin and John Bradford, who were denied entry-level Wal-Mart jobs because their mother, Ramona Bradford, had filed a sex discrimination complaint against the retailer with the EEOC.
Retaliation against an employee because of her opposition to discrimination and/or participation in protected activity, such as filing a discrimination charge, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The retailer also will “furnish other relief,” such as an injunction prohibiting retaliatory practices, training for managerial employees on retaliation and the posting of a notice advising employees of their rights under Title VII.
The EEOC sued Wal-Mart in federal court in New Mexico nearly seven years ago after it was unable to reach a voluntary settlement with the retailer before the start of litigation.
- Cyd King
BlackRock’s stake in Car-Mart at 5.5%
Funds overseen by BlackRock Inc. now own 5.5 percent of Bentonville based America’s Car-Mart stock, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
New York-based BlackRock owned 500,184 shares of the buy-here pay-here car dealer as of Dec. 31, according to the filing. Car-Mart’s shares closed at $41.30 in trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq, making BlackRock’s holdings worth $20.7 million.
Car-Mart operates 129 dealerships in 10 states.
- John Magsam
Investors cautious; state index up 1.67
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, gained 1.67 to 322.43 on Tuesday.
“Stocks closed marginally higher as investors exercised caution in advance of the … Federal Reserve policy meeting and Federal Open Market Committee announcement scheduled for [today],” said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock. “Arkansas stocks tracked the major market indexes with 10 issues advancing while seven declined.”
P.A.M. Transportation shares rebounded from Monday’s sell-off, closing 7.6 percent higher, Williams said.
America’s Car-Mart dropped 2.4 percent in light trading, Williams said.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 25 on 01/29/2014