Rent-A-Center Says Suit Alleging Violations of CA State Labor Laws Is Baseless; Intends to Vigorously Defend Itself

Business Wire, Sept 22, 1999

PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 1999--

Rent-A-Center, Inc., (NASDAQ:RCII) said that it has seen a press release issued by a plaintiff's attorney that states a putative class action lawsuit has been filed against the Company under certain California state employment laws in state court in Los Angeles, CA. According to the press release, the suit asserts claims for nonpayment of overtime wages to current and former assistant managers and inside/outside managers of the Company in California who are compensated based upon an annual salary and a monthly bonus.

Rent-A-Center has not yet been served in the case, nor has it received a copy of the complaint. In response to the allegations contained in the press release, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, J. Ernest Talley said, "We believe the lawsuit to be baseless and without merit. We have examined these issues in the past and are confident that our employment practices are fair, competitive and are properly classified under California law as exempt from overtime requirements. Accordingly, we will vigorously defend the Company against these allegations."

Rent-A-Center, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, currently operates 2,085 rent-to-own stores in 49 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, offering high-quality durable goods such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers, furniture and accessories to consumers under flexible rental purchase arrangements that allow the customer to obtain ownership of the merchandise at the conclusion of an agreed-upon rental period. ColorTyme, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company is a national franchisor of 340 rent-to-own stores, 314 of which operate under the name of "ColorTyme" and the remaining 26 which operate under the "Rent-A-Center" name.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," or "believe," or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward looking statements will prove to be correct, the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The actual future performance of the Company could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, (i) the allegations contained in the complaint, (ii) general risks inherent in ongoing litigation, and (iii) the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its annual report Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 1998, its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 1999, and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the six months ended June 30, 1999. You are cautioned not to place reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, the Company is not obligated to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect the events or circumstances after the date of this report or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.