OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP recently tucked a $38 million bonus program into a run-of-the-mill bankruptcy filing to pay employee wages, raising questions from a federal bankruptcy watchdog, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. U.S. Trustee William Harrington is faulting Purdue for trying to shuttle money to insiders under cover of a standard wage motion at the same time a bankruptcy judge is shielding the drug maker from lawsuits over its alleged role in the national opioid crisis. Purdue’s court filing, Harrington said, “pushes the boundaries far beyond the typical, narrowly tailored relief appropriate so early in a case.” The company filed for chapter 11 protection earlier this month. Its request to pay bonuses doesn’t name the recipients or say how many people will share in the bonus program, unlike most motions for permission to enhance pay in bankruptcy. “Purdue is asking the court to enter an order to allow the company to continue its pre-existing and longstanding compensation programs, such as giving employees an annual bonus, not to implement new ones,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
