Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

A coalition of New York-based advocates have launched a national campaign to press large retailers, restaurant chains and other companies to end on-call and last-minute scheduling.   The effort comes in the wake of recent agreements by several retailers with New York's attorney general to end the practice in that state, the Associated Press reported.  

This week, 10,000 current and former Chipotle employees filed a class-action lawsuit claiming back wages, working off the clock and various labor violations. The suit should finally be the wake-up call necessary to get c-suite executives at restaurant, retail, hotel & lodging, convenience stores and other labor-intensive industries to take the issue seriously because the Chipotle case may be the tip of the iceberg.  

Quick-serve restaurant chain Chipotle has been hit with a lawsuit in which current and former Chipotle employees claim that the company made them work extra hours "off the clock" without paying them, CNN Money reported.   

In a scenario that few could have predicted, Walmart has emerged as one of President Obama’s most reliable corporate allies, a partner that has backed the White House on more than a dozen initiatives, including Obamacare and climate change, bloomberg.com reported.  

Various forms of online sales tax legislation have been introduced in Congress over the past 15 years but none have won passage. And now there is a new proposal.     

The battle between bankrupt Aeropostale Inc. and Sycamore Partners has grown more heated.     Aeropostale and its junior creditors have come together in an effort to save the chain, but Sycamore isn’t having any part of it. The private equity firm has filed an objection that opposes the retailer’s second amended joint plan of reorganization. Sycamore believes that liquidation is the best option.  

Let’s talk about pizza, shall we? A truly historic and transformative moment occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio early this month that changes the way college students can satisfy their late night munchies. Xavier University installed the nation’s first Pizza ATM. It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and serves up fresh, restaurant-quality pizza cooked in minutes. The school’s dining service announced the occasion with a Tweet that reads, “One small step for pepperoni, one giant leap for pizzakind.”  

Target Corp. is taking action to put an end to the controversy that erupted in the wake of its transgender bathroom decision.    The retailer will spend $20 million to ensure that each of its stores have a single-occupancy, unisex bathroom by next year, MarketWatch reported.