Labor & Employment

Newport Beach, Calif. -- Engaged Capital, an investment firm specializing in small and mid-cap North American equities and stockholder of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., has named five nominees for the Abercrombie & Fitch board of directors. The nominees are Alexander P. Brick, former CEO of Specialty Retail Group; Robert D. Huth, former CEO of David’s Bridal; Michael W. Kramer, former COO of J.C. Penney; Diane L. Neal, former CEO of Bath & Body Works; and Glenn W. Welling, CIO and managing member of Engaged Capital.

San Francisco – Gap Inc. will raise the minimum hourly wage for all U.S. employees to $9 in 2014, and then raise it again, to $10, in 2015. The move will affect about 65,000 store employees across the company’s brands, which include Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, Athleta, and Intermix. Gap's announcement comes amid a nationwide debate about the minimum wage.

Kirkland's SVP of logistics Todd Weier plans to leave the company. The company has begun a search for a new logistics leader.

Gap contends its decision to increase the hourly rate it pays workers wasn’t political, but it sure looked otherwise given the timing of the move against the backdrop of the intensifying national debate over the minimum wage.

Never one to let an opportunity to bash Walmart go to waste, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) associate director Robin Williams did just then when she was named to the NAACP board.

Williams, a 17-year UFCW veteran, was named to the 62-member board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Feb. 13. Williams leads UFCW’s civil rights and community action department and said it was an honor to join the board of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization.

Engaged Capital, an investment firm specializing in small and mid-cap North American equities and stockholder of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., has named five nominees for the Abercrombie & Fitch board of directors.

The nominees are Alexander P. Brick, former CEO of Specialty Retail Group; Robert D. Huth, former CEO of David’s Bridal; Michael W. Kramer, former COO of J.C. Penney; Diane L. Neal, former CEO of Bath & Body Works; and Glenn W. Welling, CIO and managing member of Engaged Capital.

Lowe's is renewing its partnership with Habitat for Humanity International. A new five-year, $23.5 million donation will bring Lowe's total contributions to more than $63 million since 2003 and is the company’s largest corporate donation to date.

Along with the funding, Lowe's pledged the continued support of Lowe's Heroes employee volunteers. In the past decade, Lowe's employees have donated thousands of volunteer hours in support of Habitat's work.

The Coca-Cola Company EVP and CFO Gary P. Fayard plans to retire in May, after 20 years of service with the company. Filling the role will be Kathy N. Waller. She will be elected CFO at the company’s April board meeting.

Nashville, Tenn. -- Kirkland's announced  that Todd Weier, senior VP of logistics, plans to leave the company.

"I believe that it is the right time for my departure and that my mission in the company has been largely accomplished," said Todd Weier. "I am proud of our team's many achievements over the years and the logistics infrastructure we've established."

Chicago -- Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets, a new specialty grocer format featuring value-priced healthy and organic offerings, announced Wednesday that it plans to open over 60 stores and create approximately 5,000 new jobs throughout the Midwest over the next five years. The company's first store will open in Mt. Prospect, Ill., this spring, followed by eight more grand openings, spread out between Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, throughout the remainder of this year. The retailer will enter Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota in 2015.