Labor & Employment

Who hasn’t prematurely hit the send button on an email? However, when it happened to a JCPenney executive who disclosed first quarter same store sales to an analyst, it begs the larger question of why the pair were even having a conversation about sales with two weeks left in the quarter.

San Jose, Calif. - EBay Inc. has appointed three new executives who will fill key positions on CEO-designee Devin Wenig’s leadership team. The company makes these appointments as it prepares for the separation of eBay and PayPal into independent, publicly traded companies in the second half of 2015.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced it is donating one percent of every gift card sale to local nonprofits in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada.

"When a customer buys a gift card this Mother's Day and beyond, we hope they'll feel good knowing that the gift they're giving is a part of Nordstrom helping some great non-profit organizations do amazing things for their communities,” said Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores for Nordstrom.

City of Industry, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores Inc. plans to open nine new stores in Arizona, California and Texas between April 16 and April 18. On April 16, 99 Cents Only will open new stores in Canoga Park, Glendora and Vallejo, California.

On April 17, 99 Cents Only will open new stores in Chico and Escondido, California and Houston. On Saturday, April 18, 99 Cents Only will open new stores in Mesa, Arizona and Sylmar and Tustin, California.

New York -- Lower gas prices and an increase in the average age of U.S. cars on the road didn’t help Pep Boys’ performance in the fourth quarter, posted a wider loss in the fourth quarter. The auto parts chain had a loss of $26.7 million, compared to a loss of $3.33 million a year earlier. The latest results included a net charge of $12.4 million for write-downs and severance expenses.

Pennsylvania-based food retailers Giant and Martin’s Food Stores said they will begin paying all non-union workers a minimum of $9 a hour beginning in June.

The operator of 200 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia said the move was part of the company’s commitment to provide competitive wages.

"Our associates are the foundation of our success, and we have always believed in paying competitive wages to attract the best talent," said Tom Lenkevich, Giant/Martin’s president.

Covington, La. -- Stirling Properties has added two people to its growing Asset Management division. Charles Barclay joined Stirling Properties as Assistant Asset Manager on a variety of retail and office properties in the Greater New Orleans area.

Barclay’s office is in the company’s corporate headquarters in Covington. Before moving to New Orleans, he worked for CW Capital Asset Management in Bethesda, Maryland.

Lowe's outlined its progress in meeting its sustainability objectives in its 2014 Social Responsibility Report.