Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department showed that jobless claims in the United States rose by 26,000 for the week ended March 5, to 397,000.

Economists expected claims would climb to 376,000, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The total number of people receiving benefits in the prior week fell to the lowest since October 2008.

Washington, D.C. -- A Wednesday report by Bloomberg said that Wal-Mart Watch, a union-funded group that advocates for Wal-Mart Stores workers, said Justice Antonin Scalia should disqualify himself when the U.S. Supreme Court considers the company’s bid to derail a gender-bias suit on behalf of potentially one million employees.

Reducing the number of hours truck drivers are allowed to spend behind the wheel sounds like it would be a good idea to improve the nation’s roadways, but nothing could be further from the truth, according the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

The trade group is looking to defeat new rules proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that includes a provision that would reduce to 10 from 11 the number of hours drivers are allowed to drive before taking a 34-hour break.

New York -- Dov Charney, the controversial founder and CEO of American Apparel, has been hit with his most serious lawsuit to date.  Charney, 42, who has previously dodged lawsuits claiming sexual harassment, as well as non litigious-claims about a sexually-charged work environment, is being sued for $250 million in damages for allegedly forcing a teen employee to perform sexual acts. 

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  -- Walmart has joined the likes of Sears and Barnes & Noble in offering Amazon.com affiliates the opportunity to join its own network. The retailer today issued an open invitation to all Illinois online affiliates to explore the opportunity to join Walmart.com's affiliate network. This invitation comes as Amazon.com and Overstock.com threaten to terminate their relationships with all Illinois affiliates should H.B. 3659 (Main Street Fairness Act) be signed into law.

New York City -- Skechers USA has sued Sears Holdings Corp, alleging that the chain was selling footwear that infringed on some of Skechers brands, including its toning Shape-ups line, Reuters reported.

"While we value our relationship with Sears, their actions are causing us tremendous damage, and we simply cannot let any company, let alone a company the size of Sears, infringe on our most valuable intellectual property," Philip Paccione, general counsel of Skechers, said.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sears Holdings has joined other retailers, including Barnes & Noble, in inviting Amazon.com affiliates to work with it following Amazon's response to recent legislation related to collected taxes on e-commerce purchases.

WASHINGTON -- The National Retail Federation announced that it welcomed the House of Representatives' vote to repeal a provision in last year’s healthcare reform law that would widely expand the number of IRS 1099 tax forms businesses would be required to file.

Dover, Del. -- The Delaware Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by billionaire Ron Burkle in a lawsuit challenging a poison pill plan adopted by Barnes & Noble after he doubled his stake in the company.

After hearing arguments Wednesday, the court on Thursday affirmed a judge's ruling last year upholding the poison pill plan, which limited a shareholder's stake in the company to 20%.

San Diego -- Target Corp. was ordered by a California judge to pay $22.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that the chain illegally disposed hazardous waste at hundreds of stores throughout the state, prosecutors said Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

The settlement puts Target under tight scrutiny to ensure that it properly disposes waste at its nearly 300 stores in California, the report said.