Regulations & Compliance
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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
China Regrets EU's Antidumping Probe On Solar Panels
September 6, 2012 12:00 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsChina expressed regret on Thursday over a European Union decision to launch an antidumping investigation on Chinese-made solar panels which EU manufacturers say are sold below market prices. While expressing China's dissatisfaction with the EU decision, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said the two sides should resolve the issue through talks without taking "protectionist" measures.
Ex-Porsche CFO Rejects Credit Fraud Charges
September 5, 2012 2:06 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsPorsche's ex-finance chief has rejected fraud charges arising from arranging credit to help the German sports car maker's doomed attempt to take over Volkswagen AG in 2009. News agency dapd reported that Holger Haerter told the Stuttgart state court as the trial opened on Wednesday that he was "stunned" by the accusation.
Samsung In Hot Seat Over Abusing Chinese Workers
September 5, 2012 10:29 am | by Youkyung Lee, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsFresh off a billion-dollar loss in a patent fight with rival smartphone maker Apple, embattled Samsung Electronics Co. now finds itself accused by a labor rights group of mistreating workers in China and illegally using child labor. The New York based-China Labor Watch said its investigation into workplace conditions at eight factories in China showed some employees were working more than 100 hours per month of overtime.
MN Boat Plant Settles Sex Discrimination Claim
September 5, 2012 10:25 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBrunswick Corp. and Lund Boat Co. have agreed to pay $295,000 to settle a sex discrimination claim at a Lund boat plant in Minnesota. The agency had alleged Lund and its Lake Forest, Ill.-based parent company, Brunswick, systematically discriminated against more than 200 women who applied for entry-level jobs at the New York Mills plant.
Getting On Track With Traceability
September 5, 2012 8:06 am | Articles | CommentsWith a growing focus on food safety, it is increasingly important for food manufacturers to be able to trace products effectively in the event of a recall. RedPrairie recently released a new survey uncovering traceability and recall trends and suggesting actions processors can take to stay on top of regulatory requirements.
Apple Wants More Samsung Products Added To Suit
September 4, 2012 2:08 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsFresh off its court victory over Samsung Electronics Co., iPhone maker Apple Inc. is asking a federal court to add four more of its rival's products to the list of patent-infringing products. Apple filed documents in San Jose federal district court on Friday asking a judge to end Samsung's release of "copycat products," and urged the court to pull Samsung products released after its lawsuit was filed in April.
Samsung To Audit All Of Its Suppliers In China
September 4, 2012 10:23 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsSamsung said it plans to examine all of its Chinese suppliers for possible violations of labor policies. Samsung Electronics Co. said it will carry out audits of 105 Chinese companies that are its exclusive suppliers this month. The move comes after Samsung's audit of a supplier, HEG Electronics, in response to an allegation it used child labor.
DuPont Wins Injunction In Trade-Secrets Case
August 31, 2012 9:52 am | by Randall Chase, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsA federal judge in Virginia has issued an injunction against a South Korean company that lost a trade-secrets battle with the DuPont Co. At issue are high-strength synthetic fibers used in products such as Kevlar body armor. The judge on Thursday barred Kolon Industries from producing any para-aramid fibers for 20 years. He also issued a permanent injunction against Kolon's use of DuPont trade secrets.
EPA Asks For More Time To Study Taconite Plan
August 30, 2012 2:07 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsOfficials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency heard a plea Wednesday for more time to study a federal plan for reducing emissions from taconite plants that create haze over Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park.
Motorola Trade Secrets Thief Gets 4-Year Term
August 29, 2012 2:10 pm | by Jason Keyser, Associated Press | News | CommentsA Chinese-born American convicted of stealing trade secrets from Motorola was sentenced Wednesday to 4 years in prison in a case that prosecutors hoped would send a message to those who might be tempted to siphon vital information from U.S. companies.
Apple's Victory Means Soul-Searching For Samsung
August 29, 2012 10:05 am | by Youkyung Lee, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsA U.S. jury's $1 billion verdict against Samsung for what rival Apple claimed was the illegal copying of its iPhone and iPad designs signals a turning point for the South Korean electronics giant known for its prowess in adapting the innovations of others and nimbly executing production.
U.S. Expects Another Guilty Plea In Car-Parts Probe
August 28, 2012 2:34 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe federal government says a Japanese company has agreed to plead guilty in Detroit and pay a $1 million fine in a price-fixing investigation involving auto parts. The Justice Department said Tuesday that Nippon Seiki Co. Ltd. of Nagoka, Japan, conspired with other companies to fix prices of instrument panel clusters over a two-year period.
Court: Age Discrimination Unproven In Boeing Sale
August 28, 2012 10:25 am | by Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press | News | CommentsA federal appeals court ruled Monday that former employees of The Boeing Co. failed to demonstrate a pattern of age discrimination in the wake of the 2005 sale of its commercial aircraft business in Kansas and Oklahoma. Ninety former Boeing workers sued in December 2005 claiming they lost their jobs because of their age when the Chicago-based aerospace manufacturer sold operations.
Apple Lists 8 Samsung Products It Wants Banned
August 28, 2012 10:21 am | by Paul Elias, Associated Press | News | CommentsApple on gave a federal judge a list of eight Samsung products it wants pulled from shelves and banned from the U.S. market, including popular Galaxy model smartphones. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh asked for the list after a jury in San Jose last week slammed Samsung with a $1.05B verdict, finding that the South Korean technology giant had "willfully" copied Apple's iPhone and iPad in creating and marketing the products.
Lights Out: Are You Ready For Lighting Legislation?
August 28, 2012 8:09 am | Articles | CommentsThe next phase of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) energy-efficiency lighting legislation went into effect on July 14, 2012 and requires all impacted lighting to be manufactured to be more energy-efficient. Most recently, the DOE has granted a deadline extension for some lighting categories until July 14, 2014, leaving some businesses uncertain on how to best move forward in adopting energy efficient lighting.
OSHA Cites Tyson For Nebraska Worker's Death
August 27, 2012 2:02 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsRegulators have proposed more than $104,000 in penalties for Tyson Foods because of safety violations the regulators say were found at a Nebraska beef plant where a worker was fatally injured. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson was cited for seven violations at its Dakota City plant.
Samsung Ordered To Pay Apple $1.05B In Patent Case
August 27, 2012 10:07 am | by Paul Elias, Associated Press | News | CommentsAfter a year of scorched-earth litigation, a jury decided Friday that Samsung ripped off the innovative technology used by Apple to create its revolutionary iPhone and iPad. The jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in the latest skirmish of a global legal battle between the two tech giants. An appeal is expected.
Court Rules Samsung Didn't Copy iPhone
August 24, 2012 10:09 am | by Youkyung Lee, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsSouth Korea's Samsung won a home court ruling in its global smartphone battle against Apple on Friday when judges in Seoul said the company didn't copy the look and feel of the U.S. company's iPhone, and that Apple infringed on Samsung's wireless technology.
2 SC Boeing Employees Appeal Case Against Union
August 22, 2012 1:53 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsTwo employees at South Carolina's Boeing Co. plant have appealed their complaint against the International Association of Machinists. The National Right to Work Foundation said Tuesday that Dennis Murray and Cynthia Ramaker had filed an appeal with the National Labor Relations Board.
Epic Patent Trial Over iPhone Technology Wraps Up
August 21, 2012 2:19 pm | by Paul Elias, Associated Press | News | CommentsAfter three weeks of listening to technology experts, patent professionals and company executives debate the complicated legal claims of Apple Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co., a jury of nine men and women are set to decide one of the biggest technology disputes in history.
China Says U.S. Energy Projects Violate Free Trade
August 21, 2012 10:18 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsChina's government has ruled that U.S. government support to six American solar and wind power projects violates free trade rules, adding to strains between Beijing and its trading partners over renewable energy. The United States and China are the two biggest markets for renewable energy and have pledged to cooperate in developing technology.
Settlement In MS Suit Over Illegal Workers
August 21, 2012 10:14 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsFederal court records show a Mississippi company that was the target of the largest U.S. workplace raid on illegal immigrants has settled a discrimination lawsuit by four black women who claimed the company gave preferential treatment to Latinos. A tentative settlement was announced in February. Details were released in court documents filed this past week.
Appeals Court Rejects Challenge On Ethanol
August 20, 2012 2:03 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA federal appeals court has rejected a challenge to Environmental Protection Agency decisions allowing an increase in ethanol content in gasoline. In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said trade associations of engine manufacturers, food producers and petroleum producers did not have standing to sue because they failed to show that their members are harmed by the EPA action.
WV AG Says Claims Being Accepted In LCD Case
August 20, 2012 2:00 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAttorney General Darrell McGraw says West Virginia consumers can now file refund claims in a price-fixing settlement against companies that made liquid crystal display screens used in televisions and computer monitors. Consumers have until Dec. 6 to file claims for LCD screens bought between 1999 and 2006.
IN Fines Glass Maker $150K For Repeat Violations
August 20, 2012 10:10 am | News | CommentsIndiana regulators have fined a central Indiana glass factory $150,000 after inspectors found company managers had failed to correct several workplace safety lapses discovered at the plant following a worker's 2010 death. Pilkington North America was fined last month by the Indiana OSHA after it conducted a follow-up inspection this spring at the Shelbyville plant about 25 miles southeast of Indianapolis.
