P.A.M. told to pay ex-drivers $477,399
P.A.M. Transport Inc. must pay $477,399 to 12 of its former drivers after a federal judge determined the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by the Department of Labor's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in 2009. The EEOC said P.A.M.'s medical clearance policy, which required drivers to notify the company whenever they had contact with a medical professional, violated federal law.
The lawsuit was filed after a pre-litigation settlement failed, according to the EEOC.
P.A.M. was ordered to change its medical policy in April 2012. On Feb. 26, the court ruled that the company owes the 12 drivers $225,998 in back pay and interest, $49,114 in compensatory damages, and $202,287 in punitive damages.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
LR airport panel OKs Fly Arkansas lease
The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission on Tuesday approved leasing hangar and office space to Fly Arkansas LLC to allow the aviation services company to become the second fixed-base operator serving private and business aircraft at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field.
Airport spokesman Shane Carter said that with the approval, airport Executive Director Ronald Mathieu or his designee will be authorized to sign a lease giving Fly Arkansas access to a portion of the former Hawker Beechcraft completion facility. Fly Arkansas, based in Mountain Home, will pay $175,938 annually under the lease.
Carter said the airport plans to have the space ready for Fly Arkansas by May 1.
The company's managing member, Taylor Scott, has said the company expects to spend about $600,000 on renovations and equipment. Scott said the company plans to be operating in the space by early August.
-- Glen Chase
Arkansas Index rises 2.38; trucker up 6%
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 2.38 to 401.47 on Tuesday.
"The Dow Jones industrial average closed with triple digit losses as traders await Fed Chairman Janet Yellen's statement today at the close of the Fed's two-day meeting," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Little Rock.
P.A.M. Transportation jumped over 6 percent, Williams said, and Acxiom fell by almost 1.5 percent in light trading.
Total volume of the index was 17.8 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 03/18/2015