Labor & Employment

Washington, D.C. - The Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA), a trade association of closed loop gift card retailers committed to promoting and protecting the use of gift cards, has appointed Mary Donovan, account director Kellen Company as the new executive director. Kellen Company has been named the association's management firm.

In addition, the RGCA has named Nicole Willis of Groupon and Erin Wood of Subway to the board of directors. They will be filling vacant board positions left by their respective companies.

Ankeny, Iowa -- Casey’s General Stores announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire 24 Stop-n-Go locations. Twenty of the stores are located in North Dakota and four are located in Minnesota.

Against the backdrop of a growing national debate over the minimum wage and part-time versus full-time workers, Home Depot has begun a huge seasonal hiring surge in preparation for spring.

The nation's largest home improvement retailer said it planned to hire approximately 80,000 seasonal employees, many of whom are part-time, the same day that President Barack Obama was expected to sign an executive order unilaterally increasing to $10.10 the minimum wage the federal government pays contract workers.

Chicago — Jones Lang LaSalle has announced the appointment of Josh Burmeister as executive VP and Gulf Coast retail brokerage lead and Ms. Buff Teague as VP. They will cover Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle, partnering with John Bemis, Southeast retail market lead and John Lambert, Fla., retail market lead.

Burmeister and Teague join JLL from SRS Real Estate Partners.

While at SRS, Burmeister served as market leader for operations in Mobile, Ala., and co-market leader for Birmingham Ala., operations.

Stater Bros. reported a substantial increase in net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 and credited its long-time low-price strategy for its sales growth.

Virginia Beach, Va. — Divaris Real Estate has named Read F. Goode, Jr. to the post of managing broker of its Richmond, Va., office. Goode will focus on commercial sales and leasing services, land and shopping center acquisition and development.

Goode has more than two decades of brokerage and commercial development experience throughout central Virginia. He joins Divaris from S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. where he specialized in commercial land development and sales.

Hhgregg EVP and chief operating officer Gregg W. Throgmartin has resigned his position and spot on the company’s board of directors, effective March 31. Throgmartin is leaving to pursue outside interests and manage family businesses, the company said.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is applauding a decision by the Treasury and IRS to delay implementation of some employer requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) until 2015 and eliminate other requirements for small businesses.