Labor & Employment

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores is the subject of a lawsuit accusing it of wrongly denying employee benefits for same-sex spouses, Reuters reported. The lawsuit seeks nationwide class-action status.

New York -- Starbucks Corp. is expanding its already extensive global footprint.

The chain announced it will open its first stores in South Africa next year in a partnership deal with South African management group Taste Holdings. The initial store is scheduled to open in Johannesburg during the first half of 2016.

With its stock trading at a 52-week low, Sears has made an interesting choice to lead its department store business.

The company says it has found a new executive to develop a strategy for the Sears format that focuses on meeting the needs of the Shop Your Way member.  

QVC is ramping up its distribution network on the West Coast with a new, state of the art facility in Ontario, Calif.

The multichannel retailer plans to open a West Coast distribution hub there in 2016. As QVC ramps up operations, the center is expected to employ more than 500 team members by 2018. QVC anticipates hiring approximately 1,000 team members in total by 2020 as the distribution center expands fulfillment to all product categories.

Ankeny, Iowa - Casey’s General Stores Inc. is set to have its first new CEO in more than a quarter-century. After more than 26 years with the company, Robert J. Myers, chairman and CEO, will retire as CEO at the end of the 2016 fiscal year on April 30, 2016.

“Now Trending” is a new exclusive online series to chainstoreage.com, featuring trending topics that impact the retail real estate landscape.

As revitalized urban spaces continue to flourish in cities across the country, the concept of co-working spaces has gained considerable traction. The growing popularity of this new workspace arrangement is more than just another piece of the urban puzzle, it is one of the driving forces helping to shape a new generation of emerging urban landscapes.

Chesapeake, Va. – Dollar Tree Inc. is not slowing down after finalizing its $8.5 billion acquisition of Family Dollar Stores Inc. last week. The retailer plans to open a 1.5 million-sq.-ft. distribution center in the vicinity of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Chicago -- Starbucks Corp. is ratcheting up its already significant commitment to job creation.

The coffee giant is teaming up with such other retail powerhouses as Walmart, CVS Health, Walgreens, Macy’s, Target and J.C. Penney in an ambitious jobs program to hire 100,000 16- to 24-year-olds "who face systemic barriers to jobs and education" by 2018 through apprenticeships, internships, training programs, and both part-time and full-time jobs.

Cincinnati – Macy’s is reducing its presence in Pittsburgh. The retailer has sold its downtown Pittsburgh building at 400 Fifth Avenue to Philadelphia-based Core Realty and will close its store in that location.

Indianapolis -- Fresh Thyme Farmers Market may have only been in business in three years, but it is thinking big.

With some16 stores in the Midwest, the value-priced, organic specialty grocer is scheduled to open 60 stores by 2019. It will open two new location in the Indianapolis area on Aug. 6.