Declarations

On Notice

“This settlement … should put all federal contractors on notice that the Labor Department is serious about eliminating systemic discrimination,”

—U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, commenting on an agreement with Gerber Products Co. in Fort Smith, Ark., which will pay $900,000 to settle accusations of hiring practices that discriminated against women and minority-group applicants. The agreement covers 1,912 rejected minority and female applicants for jobs at Gerber, according to a Labor Department news release. Federal officials said Gerber was using pre-employment tests that disadvantaged minorities, without sufficient evidence of the validity of the tests. Gerber makes a variety of baby foods at the plant, which employs between 600 and 650 people. Gerber USA, based in Florham Park, N.J., is a subsidiary of Swiss food conglomerate Nestle SA. AP

Zero Tolerance

“Targeting seniors with this sort of financial fraud is especially egregious and will not be tolerated.”

—Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland, announcing that former insurance agent Richard Wallen has been arrested and accused of defrauding a Wynnewood couple out of more than $40,000 between 2005 and 2007. Wallen has been charged with two felony counts. The insurance department alleges that Wallen had convinced the elderly couple to buy bonds from the Iowa State Bond Trust, which would allegedly yield a return of 24 percent. Wallen never invested the money and deposited the funds into his personal bank account, according to an insurance department order.