Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

Washington, D.C. - The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is seeking an injunction from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. relating to the closure of five stores due to alleged plumbing problems. The UFCW wants the NLRB to force Wal-Mart to rehire 2,200 store employees who are currently on paid leave while the stores are closed for what Wal-Mart says are necessary plumbing repairs.

A. Alfred Taubman, the father of the modern indoor shopping mall, has died. He was 91.

The announcement was made over the weekend by his son, Robert Taubman, the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Taubman Centers Inc. Taubman said his father suffered a heart attack.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Gap Inc. are both asking Congress to approve legislation that would reauthorize Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), saying such authority is critical to advancing free trade agreements.

Mooresville, N.C. – Reduced stock awards and incentives resulted in a roughly 24% pay cut for Robert Niblock, president, chairman and CEO of Lowe’s Companies Inc., in 2014. In an SEC filing, Lowe’s reported that Niblock’s total compensation in 2014 came to $14.3 million, compared to $18.7 million in 2013.
  Niblock’s base salary grew 5% to $1.3 million from $1.2 million. However, Niblock’s stock awards fell to $5.8 million from $9.8 million, and other incentives decreased, as well.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. has entered into a settlement agreement with MasterCard International Inc.to resolve losses from the data breach that Target experienced during the fourth quarter of 2013. Under the agreement, alternative recovery offers will be made by MasterCard to eligible MasterCard issuers worldwide that claimed to have been affected by the data breach. 
 

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is publicly supporting the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s consideration of the Data Security and Breach Notification Act. In a public statement, Mallory Duncan, senior VP and general counsel NRF, said strong tools are needed to combat criminal breaches.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is reportedly nearing a $20 million settlement with MasterCard to cover costs related to the retailer’s 2013 data breach. According to the Wall Street Journal, the settlement would pay for the cost of reissuing payment cards and some fraud that resulted from improper use of consumer data.

Sources indicate Target and MasterCard have been negotiating for months. TJX paid a similar sum to MasterCard to settle costs from a 2008 data breach.
 

Washington, D.C. - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is publicly supporting the Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2015.

In advance of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s markup of the bill, RILA released a statement saying retail and grocery industries have long been in support of a federal data breach notification and data security law that sets a single national standard.

Plano, Texas – A senior executive at The J.C. Penney Co. Inc. has accidentally disclosed same-store sales growth to date in the first quarter of fiscal 2015. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Penney said the executive sent an email to an analyst including the information that same-store sales have increased 6% so far in the quarter, ending in May 2015, with the retailer expecting growth to total 3.5%-4.5% for the full quarter.

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.