Ralphs grocery chain formally pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony charges that it illegally rehired locked-out employees during the 2003-04 supermarket labor dispute in Southern and Central California. The pleas in federal court in Los Angeles followed a June 30 agreement between the supermarket chain and federal prosecutors. It called for the company to plead guilty and pay a total of $70 million in fines and restitution. The company would also be placed on three years' probation.
See "Guilty Plea in Ralphs Labor Case", Cynthia H. Cho, Los Angeles Times, July 26, 2006