Rite Aid to settle lawsuit
Rite Aid Corp., the Camp Hill, Pa., drugstore chain, said it agreed to pay as much as $20.9 million to resolve allegations that it misclassified certain managers as being exempt from laws requiring they be paid for overtime. The accord, which is subject to court approval, resolves claims for damages dating back as far as 2002 and covers more than 6,000 current and former associates, the company said in a statement. The company and lawyers for the workers say they believe the settlement is fair and reasonable, according to the company's statement. Rite Aid denied any wrongdoing in the global settlement. — Bloomberg News
Toll Bros. to pay fine
Horsham-based luxury homebuilder Toll Bros. has agreed to pay a $741,000 civil penalty as part of a proposed settlement to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at its construction sites, including 40 in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department announced Wednesday. This settlement covers 370 sites in 23 states, including 55 in Pennsylvania and 43 in New Jersey, the EPA said. Toll was alleged to have failed to comply with conditions imposed by construction permits. This resulted in the discharge of pollutants in storm water from construction sites, the agency contended. The proposed settlement requires Toll to establish a compliance program involving site oversight and management. The consent agreement is subject to a 30-day comment period and final approval by U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. Toll chief marketing officer Kira Sterling said the builder would have no comment. — Alan J. Heavens
Chain getting state aid for new site
The company that owns the Burlington Coat Factory retail chain will build a new $41 million headquarters in South Jersey with $40 million in state aid, rather than moving to Pennsylvania, according to a deal announced by Gov. Christie's office. The Bain Capital-owned retailer would build a 180,000-square-foot facility in Florence, Burlington County, to replace headquarters in Burlington that currently employ 626 people. The move would create 120 new full-time positions, the governor's office said. The Christie administration approved a $40 million GrowNJ award consisting of tax credits for the company, which has 482 stores in 44 states and Puerto Rico. The company did not return a call for comment Wednesday. — Maria Panaritis
New CEO for Physician Network
Mercy Health System, Conshohocken, named Robert Permut chief executive officer of the Mercy Physician Network. The network has 40 offices with nearly 100 physicians in the Philadelphia region. Permut joins Mercy Physician Network after serving as the chief medical officer for Presence Health, a Catholic health system in Mokena, Ill. Permut's specialty is psychiatry. — David Sell
Hospital chief to retire
Doylestown Hospital announced that president and chief executive officer Richard A. Reif plans to retire by the end of 2012 after more than 23 years in the job. Board of Directors chairwoman Carolyn Della-Rodolfa said the board accepted Reif's resignation "with heartfelt appreciation of his leadership and warmest wishes for his future." A search firm was retained to seek Reif's successor. — David Sell
ELSEWHERE
Ark. judge rejects trial request
An Arkansas judge has denied a request for a new trial after he fined Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary $1.2 billion for downplaying and concealing risks associated with the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. Judge Tim Fox ruled earlier this year that Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and its parent company would have to pay $5,000 for each of the nearly 240,000 Risperdal prescriptions issued to state Medicaid patients over a 3?-year period in addition to other fines. Fox this week denied the new trial request. — AP
Lexus tops J.D. Power list
A new study finds that Lexus makes the best-quality cars in the United States. The Toyota luxury brand was tops in the J.D. Power & Associates study of quality in 2012 models. It was the second-straight win for Lexus. Luxury carmakers Jaguar and Porsche tied for second, while Cadillac and Honda rounded out the top five brands. The study found that vehicle quality has reached its highest level since J.D. Power began looking at the issue in 1987. Still, scores were held down because people had problems with new electronic gadgets such as touchscreen controls and voice-recognition software. — AP
