Labor & Employment

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Anheuser-Busch’s Fort Collins brewery is celebrating its 25th birthday.

The brewery took nearly three and a half years to construct, and according to the company was designed based on generations of brewmaster expertise. The state-of-the-art fixture has since undergone three expansions, with the last one having been completed April 2003, and which included a brewhouse renovation, additional grain silos, expansion of the fermentation and aging cellars, an additional warehouse and a new truck entrance.  

Hoffman Estates, Ill. - Sears Holdings on Friday joined the growing list of retailers and other companies severing ties with Southern celebrity chef Paula Deen in the wake of the controversy regarding her use of a racial slur. Both Sears and Kmart sold Paula Deen products.

“After careful consideration of all available information, we have made the decision to phase out all products tied to the brand,” Sears said in a statement. “We will continue to evaluate the situation. Our members’ needs will be given first priority.’

Hicksville, N.Y. - The battle between the board of Men’s Wearhouse and its founder and former chairman, George Zimmer, continues to have a significant negative impact on the company’s online image.  According to a report by GenSent Insights, the company’s sentiment score, a measure of the tone surrounding a brand on a scale of -100 to +100, plummeted from an average of + 68 in mid-June to a low of -52.  The sentiment on Twitter alone fell from an uncommonly high score of +93 to a low of -80. 

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Kid Brands' board is going to see some changes, following Hugh Rovit's announcement that he will not be seeking re-election as a director at the company's annual shareholders meeting.

Workforce management tools can help with compliance, control costs

As an industry with one of the largest populations of part-time workers, retail stands to be hit the hardest by the changes required by the Affordable Care Act. Yet as retailers start planning, many of them simply don't know how to comply, and what the long-term effects will be. Unfortunately, there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution, and employers will have to carefully select a strategy that is right for them.

Englewood, Colo. – Michael Foss has been named CEO of The Sports Authority Inc. He replaced outgoing CEO Darrell Webb, who is retiring both as the company’s chief executive and chairman of the board.

Foss, a member of the board of directors of The Sports Authority since 2009, most recently served as executive VP and CFO at Petco Animal Supplies and as CFO of Circuit City Stores before that. He has 30 years of executive experience across a variety of verticals including retail.

Oklahoma City – Hobby Lobby has received permission from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver to continue its challenge of the federal mandate requiring for-profit employers to offer certain types of birth control coverage as part of their employee health care plans. As a result, Hobby Lobby will at least temporarily avoid having to start paying millions of dollars in fines for non-compliance next week.

Boucherville, Quebec - Canadian home improvement retailer Rona Inc. is closing 11 non-profitable stores as part of a broader restructuring plan. Rona will also reduce administrative, marketing, merchandising and distribution expenses and eliminate 125 administrative jobs. In February 2013, Rona cut 200 jobs.

Rona rejected an unsolicited $1.72 billion USD buyout offer from Lowe’s in August 2012.

Fremont, Calif. – George Zimmer, the founder and executive chairman of Men’s Wearhouse who was stripped of his executive chairman title last week and has been engaging in a war of words with the retailer ever since, continued his verbal battle in an open letter released on June 26.

New York – Macy’s will pay $175,000 in civil penalties to the U.S. government in an agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) settling claims of mistreatment of immigrant workers. In addition to paying the $175,000 fine, Macy’s will also revise its employment eligibility reverification policies and procedures and to provide training to its human resources personnel across the country on the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA).