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In the Region

Exel labor violations spur fines

Federal labor officials said Tuesday they found nine workplace violations at a candy repackaging and distribution facility owned by the Hershey Co. and operated by Exel Inc., the site of protests last summer by foreign student workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed penalties of $283,000 against Exel after inspections prompted by a complaint by the National Guestworker Alliance on the students' behalf. It also proposed a $5,000 fine against SHS Staffing Solutions, which helped place the students. The agency said six violations lodged against Exel, of Westerville, Ohio, were willful, for not recording injuries and illnesses over a four-year period and not taking required steps to protect workers' hearing. - AP

New Penney's set for Franklin Mills

A new J.C. Penney department store at Franklin Mills Mall is to open March 2, replacing a shuttered Penney's Outlet Store at the same location, the company announced Tuesday. The 101,000-square-foot store at Franklin Mills Circle has been remodeled since the outlet was closed in July. The company said it had implemented a new strategy starting this month to offer merchandise at attractive prices on a daily basis, rather than inundating customers with sales, coupons, rebates, and "retail gimmicks." - Maria Panaritis

Teva to settle lawsuits

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. will pay more than $250 million to settle more than 80 lawsuits alleging the drugmaker sold the anesthetic Propofol in a way that led colonoscopy patients to develop hepatitis C, sources familiar with the accords said. Teva, the world's biggest maker of generic medicines, confirmed the settlement Tuesday without specifying how much it would pay. The company, based in Frazer, Pa., agreed to resolve claims by Las Vegas residents that it intentionally sold Propofol in vials large enough to be reused by doctors, sources said. Teva no longer makes Propofol. - Bloomberg News

New Marcellus pipeline proposed