Hercules Settles Charges Over Billing

Hercules Inc. has agreed to pay $600,000 to settle claims by four employees that the company improperly billed the federal government for work on space and strategic missile programs. The firm will pay a separate $3.6 million to resolve the four men’s wrongful-termination claims, plus $220,000 toward legal fees. A final judgment was signed this week. A federal judge approved the settlement last month over objections by the Justice Department, which contended the settlement was inadequate to cover the sweeping wrongdoing alleged in the suit. The men sued the former Utah defense contractor under the federal False Claims Act, which allows citizens to sue contractors on behalf of the government. Under the act’s provisions, the men also collected 25% of the government’s $600,000 recovery. The four men claim they each tried to report the improper billing but were rebuffed. All four were fired in 1991. Wilmington, Del.-based Hercules denied any wrongdoing. The company sold its aerospace unit to Alliant TechSystems of Minnesota in 1995.