Lawsuit claims female employees are ‘devalued and demeaned’ by retailer
Two former Nike employees filed a class action lawsuit against Nike in the U.S. District Court of Oregon Thursday alleging sex discrimination on the grounds that Nike pays women less than their male counterparts, promotes women less and offers them smaller annual salary increases and bonuses, according to court filings and The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. According to a company statement emailed to Retail Dive by a spokesperson, “Nike opposes discrimination of any type and has a long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion. We are committed to competitive pay and benefits for our employees. The vast majority of Nike employees live by our values of dignity and respect for others.”
Sara Johnston and Kelly Cahill, the two plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit, claim the company fosters an environment “where women are devalued and demeaned” and that “the company hierarchy is an un-climbable pyramid.” They claim that women are passed over for promotions and must “far outshine her male counterparts” to succeed.In addition to poor promotion opportunities, former Nike employees Johnston and Cahill also claim the company ignores female employees’ complaints about sexual harassment and discrimination, and that “male bad behavior is rarely penalized.”
The lawsuit draws on Johnston’s experience at Nike, from 2008 to 2017, as well as Cahill’s from 2013 to 2017, and other —sometimes-unnamed — employees.Two former Nike employees filed a class action lawsuit against Nike in the U.S. District Court of Oregon Thursday alleging sex discrimination on the grounds that Nike pays women less than their male counterparts, promotes women less and offers them smaller annual salary increases and bonuses, according to court filings and The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.
According to a company statement emailed to Retail Dive by a spokesperson, “Nike opposes discrimination of any type and has a long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion. We are committed to competitive pay and benefits for our employees. The vast majority of Nike employees live by our values of dignity and respect for others.” [Source: RetailDIVE]
Retail sales in 2018 could climb higher than forecast
Retail sales in 2018 are now forecast to climb higher than what had been expected thanks to U.S. tax reform and other upbeat economic indicators, according to an industry trade organization. Spending at retailers — excluding automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants — is predicted to climb at least 4.5 percent, the National Retail Federation said Monday, giving an updated outlook for the remainder of the year. That’s compared with a prior forecast range of 3.8 to 4.4 percent.
“Higher wages, gains in disposable income, a strong job market and record-high household net worth have all set the stage for very robust growth in the nation’s consumer-driven economy,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement. “We knew this would be a good year, but it’s turning out to be even better than expected.”
Still, there is uncertainty around a trade war with China that could impact retail spending, the group said. President Donald Trump has proposed additional tariffs on $200 billion in goods from China, which would include a mix of consumer items. The proposal is expected to be finalized next month, following a public comment period.
“Despite this upgrade in our forecast, uncertainty surrounding the trade war and higher-than-expected inflation due in part to increased oil Retail sales for the first half of 2018 were up 4.8 percent from a year earlier, NRF said. In the most recent three-months moving average, they have climbed 4.4 percent year over year.
Major retailers including Home Depot, Walmart and Macy’s are set to report quarterly earnings this week, which will offer looks at how these companies feel ahead of the all-important holiday season. So far, earnings reports from luxury retailers like Michael Kors and Louis Vuitton. Amazon’s annual Prime Day in July is believed to have pulled the back-to-school shopping season even earlier, prompting retailers like Target, JCPenney and Kohl’s to roll out deals sooner in the summer. The e-commerce giant said this year’s Prime Day was its largest yet. [Source: CNBC News]
Employee accused of theft and arson arrested
One man is under arrest after a Dairy Queen in Canton goes up in flames. 20-year-old Cody Horrock, an employee at the restaurant, is accused of illegally entering the building after hours and stealing cash. He’s been charged with third degree burglary and fourth degree grand larceny. Police believe he acted alone, and they expect to file more charges. Horrock was arraigned and sent to the St. Lawrence County Jail. [Source: Spectrum News]
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Manager fired after accusing pregnant woman of shoplifting
Staples said in a statement Monday it had fired the manager who assumed an expecting mother had shoplifted at its store in Pineville, North Carolina. “Being pregnant is already high-risk, and having to deal with that, just additional stress that I don’t need,” Bates said. Bates said she learned that the manager was fired on social media. Bates said a police officer asked her if she was shoplifting while she was checking out of the store.”Mid-transaction, a police officer approached me and insisted he wanted to speak with me,” Bates said. “He asked what was under my shirt.”Bates is pregnant with twins.
“Initially, I thought he was joking, so my response was, ‘Twins,’” Bates said. “I’m 34 weeks with twins. I’m having a boy and a girl.” Bates said the officer didn’t believe her the first time, and he asked her again. “At that point, to avoid him asking me again, I actually lifted my shirt just a little bit, just to expose my belly, so he could see that I’m just a regular pregnant person buying school supplies,” Bates said. Pineville police said a Staples manager approached the officer and asked him to speak with Bates because the manager believed Bates may have been “concealing merchandise.” “When I confronted her about what happened, she admitted that, ‘In the past, we’ve had a lot of people putting school supplies or merchandise in their clothes and hiding, so I asked the officer to reach out to you,’” Bates said.
Statement from Staples:
“On Friday at our Pineville location a Staples’ manager mistakenly assumed a customer was shoplifting and reported this assumption to a police officer visiting the store. The police officer questioned the customer and quickly confirmed there was no theft. Based on the outcome, Staples’ issued a full refund to the customer.
Staples has since conducted a full investigation into the matter, and determined that the manager in question did not follow correct protocol and also failed to adhere to our existing policy on how to interact with our customers. As a result of this finding, the manager has been terminated and Staples has apologized to the customer. At Staples, we want all customers to feel welcome in our stores, and work with our associates to foster an inclusive culture. As an organization, we would like to apologize to the customer as that was not the case in this instance.”
Bates said she planned to contact Staples’ corporate office and possibly seek legal action. “You pretty much jumped the gun without any type of evidence, except my stomach is large,” Bates said. “That’s not fair. No mom should have to go through that.” Staples said Monday that the manager did not follow the correct protocol and did not adhere to the company’s policy on interacting with customers. The company said it has since apologized to Bates. Bates said she would like Staples to provide sensitivity training for all employees. [Source: WSOCTV9 News]
Suspect arrested for robbery after shoplifting allegedly turns violent
Police in Lexington, Kentucky, have arrested a woman they say shoplifted from the Tates Creek Kroger, then became violent when confronted by loss prevention associates. According to police, 33-year-old Rachel Pelfrey was in the process of shoplifting when loss prevention associates confronted her. They say she became confrontational and injured at least one LP associate while she fought back. Police say the associates had restrained Pelfrey when they arrived on scene. Pelfrey was also charged with drug possession. [Source: WTVQ36 News]
New predictive scheduling laws impact retail, hospitality, food service [White Paper]
With on-call scheduling being challenged, predictive scheduling laws are gaining momentum in the retail, hospitality, and food service industries. San Francisco was the first municipality to enact predictive scheduling or fair scheduling rules requiring retail employers to give employees their schedules two weeks in advance and provide predictable hours and on-call pay. Seattle, New York City, and Oregon have since enacted similar legislation, and other legislative bodies nationwide are considering predictive scheduling laws for retail, hospitality, and food service companies.
From advance notice, predictable pay, and on-call pay practices to reporting-time pay, split-shift pay, right to rest, and other legal provisions, learn the particulars of current and proposed fair scheduling laws across the country and how they will impact employers in these industries. Also discover how workforce management technology can help employers in the retail, hospitality, and food service industries satisfy predictive scheduling legislative requirements and improve workforce management:
- Managers can use an automated forecasting and scheduling solution to project sales and labor needs in 15-minute increments to align staffing to demand
- Insight into scheduling needs weeks in advance enables employers to meet advance notice scheduling requirements
- Mobile functionality lets employees see their schedules weeks in advance on mobile devices
- Attestation tools support predictive scheduling compliance
- Analytics tools use daily traffic information to help managers schedule employees to demand and provide better control of overtime, absence, and labor costs
Download this informative piece to learn more about these and other benefits of utilizing an automated workforce management solution to meet predictive scheduling regulations. Preparing now for potential predictive scheduling legislation is a prudent course to take to avoid possible compliance issues later. [Source: Kronos White Paper]