Chairman to depart LR tech park board
Mary Good, chairman of the Little Rock Technology Park Authority Board, will resign from the board as of March 15, she said Wednesday at a board meeting.
Good, who is dean emeritus and special adviser for economic development at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, wrote a letter to Chancellor Joel Anderson informing him of her decision.
"I believe it is appropriate to get a new UALR representative on the board to be available for the full development of this next phase [of the park]," Good said in the letter.
She said she could serve a brief "bridge period" if the new appointee has difficulties with a March 15 start.
-- David SmithClass sought for suit on spousal benefits
A court-authorized notice was sent to about 1,200 potential class members who might have been denied benefits for same-sex spouses by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. prior to 2014.
The letter is a step being taken by the U.S. District Court in Boston to determine whether the lawsuit has merit, whether a class should be certified and whether any damages should be awarded in Cote v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Potential class members are being asked to give Wal-Mart permission to release contact, personnel and insurance plan information.
Jacqueline A. Cote filed the lawsuit in July 2015, saying Wal-Mart denied her spouse benefits after repeated requests. Diana Smithson and Cote were legally married in Massachusetts in 2004 after the state began allowing same-sex unions, and they began requesting benefits in 2008, according to the lawsuit.
Wal-Mart began offering benefits to same-sex couples in January 2014. Cote's lawsuit alleges that Wal-Mart denied benefits to Smithson after a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act.
"We maintain a strong anti-discrimination policy and we support diversity and inclusion in our workforce," Wal-Mart spokesman Randy Hargrove said. "We've attempted to resolve the case, and we're open to further discussions."
-- Chris Bahn
Bear State up 3.9%, but index loses 3.95
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 3.95 to 290.46 Wednesday.
Murphy Oil fell 6.2 percent in heavy trading.
Bear State Financial rose 3.9 percent.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 02/11/2016