Microsoft has agreed to pay $97 million to an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 workers, according to The New York Times.
The figure is based on what these workers would have theoretically earned from a Microsoft stock option program if the shares were exercised and sold a year after they were held.
Microsoft has also denied these workers, who called themselves "perma-temps" health and pension benefits and even chose not to invite them to the annual Christmas party and summer outings.
These workers even had to wear different color badges than their full-time counterparts.
Inflation? Ask the Purchasing Managers
Commodity prices and wages continue to rise, and in some cases at rapid paces.
Harbinger of rising inflation? Rising interest rates?
Nope. At least according to people who should know—the purchasing managers. They report strong difficulty in passing on these costs to consumers.
According to a survey by the National Association of Purchasing Managers, only 13 percent in manufacturing and 25 percent outside manufacturing reported that their companies are able to pass along all or most rising costs to their customers.
Just one year ago, 17 percent of manufacturers and 36 percent of non-manufacturers were able to pass on the rising costs.
Most manufacturers—87 percent—and 75% of managers from non-manufacturers said they can pass only a few increases or none at all.
Pretty encouraging for the economy, but not for the companies' profit margins.
In general, manufacturing purchasers are "less than bullish about their orgnaizations' prospects," according to the survey.
Delta Flies Into Court
Delta Air Lines appealed a federal judge's refusal to force pilots to work overtime.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Willis Hunt Jr. ruled that Delta couldn't prove that the Air Line Pilots Association had coordinated a campaign against overtime. However, Hunt did warn the pilots' union that he saw evidence of an ongoing and illegal concerted effort by the pilots to avoid overtime flights.
The airline said Hunt misinterpreted the Railway Labor Act, which prohibits ``self- help'' and other job actions by airline and railroad employees.
Delta a seeking an emergency injunction, which would require the pilots to resume the extra shifts. Delta says pilots flying overtime account for about 5 percent of its flights.
Hunt's ruling said that while he had ``found that there is an ongoing concerted effort on the part of Delta pilots to refuse overtime work,'' he was at a loss to determine who to enjoin related to the activity. He wrote that Delta also had not proved what roles the 49 pilots named in the lawsuit had played.
From the CFO.com "Brief" Case
- Ernst & Young reported a 14.1 percent jump in global revenue to $9.2 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, up from $8.1 billion last year, marking its sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth. E&Y's corporate finance services surged 32.2 percent, tax and law grew 16.1 percent while audit and advisory business climbed 10.5 percent.
- Daimler Chrysler North America Holdings, a unit of DaimlerChrysler sold $1 billion in two-year floating rate notes, according to co-lead manager Banc of America Securities Inc.
- Amgen Inc. said it plans to repurchase up to $2 billion of its stock between January 1, 2001 and December 2002. The company also said Chief Executive Officer Kevin Sharer will take on the additional role of chairman as of January 1. Gordon Binder, Amgen's chairman since 1990, previously announced plans to retire at the end of this year.
- Standard & Poor's said engineering, construction and services provider Fluor Corp. would replace Massey Energy Co. in the S&P 500 index. The change will take place after the close of trading on Dec. 21. Massey is spinning off Fluor to Massey Energy shareholders.
- Rental store operator Rent-Way Inc., which in October began investigating possible accounting tricks used to boost earnings, said it asked President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Conway to resign and that it faced an adjustment of at least $65 million.
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