The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a high-interest case contending restaurant managers must order meal and rest breaks for tens of thousands of workers rather than leave compliance to their discretion.

The case was initially filed eight years ago against Brinker International, the parent company of Chili's and other eateries, by chain restaurant workers complaining of missed breaks in violation of California labor law.

The case has generated immense interest among labor-law lawyers and a variety of industries grappling with defining responsibilities for meal and rest periods.

Lawyers for the workers argue that not ordering the breaks is a passive way to take advantage of workers who don't want to leave colleagues at busy times.

Brinker's attorney countered that requiring businesses to control the breaks of workers is unmanageable and that taking such breaks should be left to the discretion of employees.

The court's decision is due in 90 days, with the resolution possibly worth millions of dollars to lawyers and companies enmeshed in class-action lawsuits hinging on the issue.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a national insurance company, contending the firm violated federal law by refusing to hire a North Carolina man after he disclosed he was participating in a methadone treatment program for a drug addiction.

The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Raleigh against United Insurance Co. of America, said EEOC attorney Lynette Barnes.

The complaint argues the firm violated federal disability discrimination law by refusing to hire Craig Burns, 30, who applied for a job in the firm's Raleigh office in December of 2009. The firm made a conditional offer of employment to Burns the following month, depending upon his passing a drug test, the complaint said.

The test showed the presence of methadone in his system, so Burns submitted a letter to the firm from his treatment provider saying he was participating in a supervised methadone treatment program and taking legally prescribed medication as part of the treatment, the complaint said.

Upon receiving this information, United Insurance notified Barnes he was not eligible to be hired and withdrew the employment offer, the complaint said.

Barnes said the action violates the Americans With Disabilities Act, which protects employees and applicants from discrimination based on their disabilities. A recovering drug addict is covered under the act, the attorney said in an interview.

A Wisconsin court hearing could offer some kind of clarity on whether a new law eliminating most of state workers' collective bargaining rights has gone into effect.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker's administration insists it has, while other state and municipal leaders dispute that.

A court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

The latest over the collective bargaining law began Friday when the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau published the law by posting it on a website. Walker said that was all that was needed for it to take effect.

Typically, a law goes into effect when it's published by the secretary of state, but Democrat Doug La Follette had been prevented from taking action by a temporary restraining order.

Members of labor unions in New Mexico turned to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday in a dispute with the governor over the Public Employee Labor Relations Board.

Gov. Susana Martinez fired the board's executive director, Pam Gentry, on Feb. 5, then fired the three-member board March 1.

The unions are asking the court to order Martinez to reinstate the board and not to interfere with the board's hiring of an executive director.

The board is responsible for enforcing the Public Employee Bargaining Act in New Mexico.

"We believe that this is a very covert attempt to turn New Mexico into another Wisconsin and we are not going to stand for it," said Christine Trujillo, state president of the New Mexico Federation of Labor AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Teachers in New Mexico.

Last week, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed into law a measure eliminating most union rights for public employees in that state.

The New Mexico unions contend in a petition to the Supreme Court that the Republican governor exceeded her powers.

The Associated Press left a message seeking comment from Martinez. A spokesman for the governor has said her decision was part of a review of state boards and commissions since she took office in January.

General Motors Co. will pay more than $189 million in profit-sharing to 48,000 U.S. hourly workers and millions more in performance bonuses to salaried employees, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The company, less than two years out of bankruptcy protection, will pay most hourly workers more than $4,000 each as compensation for the company's strong financial performance last year, the person said. The payments are more than double the previous record payment of $1,775 in 1999, the height of the boom in sales of sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

GM's 28,000 salaried workers, such as engineers and managers, will get 4 to 16 percent of their base pay. Fewer than 1 percent will get 50 percent or more, while another 3 percent will get between 16 and 50 percent, the person said. GM is not giving annual pay raises.

The bonuses rise with the worker's level of responsibility and are based on the performance of the worker and the company, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the figures have not been made public. Workers were notified of the numbers Monday morning, the person said.

The numbers won't be final until GM announces its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings later this month, the person said.

Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. has reached a settlement with a former employee over just payment for her work.

Court records show U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon dismissed the lawsuit filed by Dannette Stackhouse, citing the settlement. Details were not disclosed.

Stackhouse's attorney Peter Glennon declined to comment. A message left Wednesday for a Dick's attorney wasn't immediately returned.

Stackhouse said in her lawsuit that employees were forced to work through breaks, were unpaid for overtime and were sometimes locked in the store until work was finished. Her lawsuit was filed on behalf of roughly 900 Dick's workers in Nebraska and sought class-action status.

Stackhouse worked in the sporting goods retailer's Papillion location.

Pittsburgh-based Dick's says it has more than 420 stores in 41 states, including three in Nebraska.

Employees at the Oscar Mayer meat processing plant in Davenport, Iowa have filed a class action lawsuit seeking compensation for time they spend putting on and taking off their safety equipment.

The lawsuit claims employees are not paid while they don and doff uniforms, safety footwear, hairnets, glasses and other equipment before and after their shifts in violation of the law.

Four current employees are the plaintiffs in the case. Their attorneys are seeking to represent a class of 1,750 employees at the plant, which processes pork, beef and poultry.

The lawsuit names Oscar Mayer's parent company, Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods Inc.

Kraft spokeswoman Rachel Larsen says the company believes it is in full compliance with state and federal law.