Labor & Employment

Former Walmart president and CEO Lee Scott will step down from the board of Goldman Sachs after serving just one year, according to a report late Thursday by the Financial Times. The publication indicated that a person familiar with the situation said service on the Goldman board demanded significantly more time than Scott had anticipated.

New York City -- The Illinois Nurses Association announced Thursday it has agreed to represent the approximately 180 nurse practitioners who work in the Take Care Clinics in the Chicago area, Rockford and Peoria. Walgreens operates 45 Take Care Clinics in Illinois.

The nurses are concerned about a pay reduction, an increase in the cost of their health benefits and other issues.

The Illinois Nurses Association has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union of nurse practitioners working at the clinics.

NEW YORK -- Walmart announced that it has donated $2 million to Dress for Success, a non-profit that helps femailes get back into the work force by providing clothes, interview preparation and other tools needed to land a job. The announcement was made at the third annual Dress for Success day of service in New York City.

New York City -- Investment bank Goldman Sachs announced that H. Lee Scott Jr., former CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, will not stand for re-election at the annual meeting in May.

Scott has not been at Goldman for long. In 2010, Goldman tapped him to replace the former managing director of McKinsey & Company, Rajat K. Gupta, when he left the board.

New York City -- The Home Depot has streamlined its in-store hiring process by centralizing it at the corporate level, making the process more uniform across the chain. Potential store hires now go through two reviews at the corporate level before they are even granted an in-person store interview, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported.

To read the full story, go to ajc.com/business/home-depot-centralizes-in-867327.html

New York City -- The Labor Department’s Producer Price Index rose last month, primarily due to higher energy costs and the biggest rise in food prices in 36 years, USA Today reported.

Food prices rose 3.9% last month, the highest increase since November 1974.

The steep rise was due, in large part, to higher vegetable costs, which were up nearly 50%.

Northbrook, Ill. -- Pine Tree Commercial Realty said that it has appointed Thomas Seurynck as VP acquisitions and due diligence.

Seurynck was previously a senior investment associate and credit/underwriting manager for Wrightwood Capital in Illinois.
 

Chicago -- Walmart has announced two additional store openings for Chicago, bringing the total number of stores it plans to open in the Windy City by 2013 to six.

The new stores will create close to 1,000 new jobs and nearly 200 construction jobs putting Walmart on the path to meeting the goals outlined in its "Chicago Community Investment Partnership."

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said the stores will bring fresh food and groceries to some of the city's most underserved neighborhoods.