Microsoft to begin paying ex-'permatemps'

CRN.com | at | by Mike

Microsoft this month is expected to begin paying $72 million to nearly 8,600 former contract workers who were part of a 1992 class-action lawsuit claiming they were denied benefits.

The workers, "permatemps" who were hired during Microsoft's early growth spurt, won a $97 million settlement in 2001 after a court found they were improperly restricted from the company stock-purchase plan. The ruling forced Microsoft to change its temporary-worker policies and limit contract lengths.