Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

By Breton Leone-Quick and Steve Ganis

St. Louis -- A settlement in a Schnuck Markets, Inc., security breach class-action lawsuit has been reached and a notification program is underway, as approved by the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri.

Customers of 79 Schnuck grocery stores are being alerted that the breach, which occurred between December 9, 2012 and March 30, 2013, has been settled and that they may be entitled to a share of the proceeds.

Tewksbury, Mass. – Delhaize Group, parent company of Maine-based supermarket chain Hannaford Bros. Co., is reportedly making a bid for part or all of the embattled Market Basket grocery chain. Market Basket operates 71 stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, and has been embroiled in a dispute with employees over management since July.

New York -- Target Corp. has added its name to a legal defense of gay marriage. The move comes four years after the company was criticized for supporting a strident opponent of same-sex unions.

Target signed a court brief backing marriage equality in a pending court case and publicly declared its support of gay marriage, joining the likes of Starbucks, Apple and Intel.

Tewksbury, Mass. – The Attorney General’s offices of Massachusetts and New Hampshire have warned the Market Basket supermarket chain that it must follow the letter of the law in terminating any employees involved in walkouts and demonstrations that have been occurring since July 18. According to the Boston Globe, a joint letter to Market Basket co-CEOs Felicia Thornton and James Gooch from the two offices states that they are aware Market Basket may start replacing workers on Aug. 4.

This year, the National Retail Federation has chosen Chicago’s Art Potash, owner of Potash Markets, as its first Retail Champion of the Year. Potash was recognized at NRF’s annual Retail Advocates summit on Capitol Hill.

Matthews, N.C. – Activist investor Carl Icahn, who had been pressuring Family Dollar to sell the company, has reduced his ownership stake in the company from 9.39% to 6.09%.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) has named Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. and Rep. John Kline, R-Minn.as NRF’s Legislators of the Year. The awards presentation was made during the Retail Advocates Summit, NRF’s annual congressional fly-in.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is highly critical of a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recommending that McDonald’s and its franchisees should be considered joint employers. According to the NRF, this move would stall job growth and diminish capital investment by making it easier for fast food workers to unionize.