Charles Schwab Scraps Cost-Cutting Order

Stock brokerage Charles Schwab Corp. scrapped a cost-cutting order requiring thousands of its employees to take off three days during the next month after discovering the plan raised “some legal questions.” The San Francisco-based brokerage didn’t disclose the nature of the problem. State labor regulators raised one possible reason for the reversal: Even if they were ordered to stay home, Schwab’s salaried employees would have to be paid for days off that had been ordered for today and Feb. 16 and March 2 in an effort to pare expenses and boost sagging profit. The order would have affected more than 10,000 salaried and hourly employees.