Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) have filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals saying the National Labor Relations Board’s decision to recognize a “micro-union” of workers in a single department at a Macy’s store in Massachusetts was incorrect.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot will urge its stockholders to support a merger with Staples by asking them to vote in favor of the $6.3 billion acquisition by Staples at an annual meeting. Industry insiders say the merger could help the pair solidify their positions in the office supplies market and fend off gains made by Amazon and Walmart in the category.
 

Office Depot will urge its stockholders to support a merger with Staples by asking them to vote in favor of the $6.3 billion acquisition by Staples at an annual meeting, according to a regulatory filing.

New York -- A report by Financial Times revealed that eBay’s CEO John Donahoe spoke out in support of Google as the search-engine giant defends itself in an antitrust case lodged in Brussels, Belgium.

New York -- The deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry, as reported by The New York Times, has led to finger-pointing and lawsuits aimed at a group of retailers.

Walmart detailed a wide range of considerable accomplishments in its eighth annual Global Responsibility Report released this week, but what the world really want to know is what’s up with those toilets at Pico Rivera, Calif., supercenter.

In case you missed it, Walmart abruptly closed the store and four others due to what the company characterized as emergency plumbing issues. Plans called for the stores to close for six months while repairs were made and employees were given two months severance pay and told them would need to reapply for jobs when the stores reopened.

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a long-awaited bill by a vote of 307-116 on Wednesday that would make it easier for private companies to share information about cybersecurity threats with the government without fear of lawsuits.

The bill must be approved by the U.S. Senate before it can be sent to President Barack Obama to sign into law. A similar measure was passed by a 14-1 vote in the Senate Intelligence Committee, and supporters say they expect strong bipartisan support in the full Senate as well.

Major retailers, trade groups and politicians sounded a euphoric and bipartisan tone last week following the introduction of trade legislation with potentially huge implications for the retail industry and the U.S. economy.