Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

New York City -- Multiple reports on Tuesday said that French retailing giant Carrefour SA has received an offer to merge with Brazil’s Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao.

Brazilian investment fund Gama said in a statement that it proposed a merger between Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer by sales after Wal-Mart Stores, and CBD, a local retailing giant.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. disclosed in a Thursday filing that it plans to spin off its Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp. business as a separate, publicly traded company.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation announced that it has sent a letter supporting Section 18 of H.R. 1249, the America Invents Act from NRF SVP government relations David French to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, Ranking Member John Conyers, D-Mich., and other members of the committee. 

Milwaukee -- A Wednesday report by the Milwaukee Business Report said that the Village of Greendale (Wis.) has approved a Walmart and garnered one of several approvals needed for a Macy's at the village’s board meeting held Tuesday.

The board approved rezoning, a special use permit and other plans needed for a 92,000-sq.-ft. Walmart slated to include a pharmacy and grocery with two out-lots for future developments.

Washington, D.C. -- A Bloomberg report on Tuesday said that the women who sought to sue Wal-Mart Stores for gender bias on behalf of 1.5 million co-workers said they will continue the fight in smaller lawsuits in lower courts and claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said the women failed to prove that Wal-Mart had a nationwide policy that led to gender discrimination, precluding a class action and forcing the plaintiffs to pursue claims on their own.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. said Tuesday it will terminate a $5.3 billion-per-year relationship with Express Scripts.

Walgreen reported that contract negotiations with Express Scripts have failed, and it will stop participating in the St. Louis company's prescription plans starting Jan. 1. Express Scripts processes about 90 million prescriptions that will be filled at Walgreen stores in fiscal 2011, which will bring Walgreen about $5.3 billion in revenue.

San Francisco -- Best Buy Co. has reportedly agreed to pay $10.2 million in a settlement related to a job discrimination class-action lawsuit, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit, filed in 2005 in U.S. District Court in Northern California, alleged that the retailer discriminated against women, African-American and Latino employees by denying them promotions and more lucrative sales positions. Best Buy has denied any wrongdoing.

The following excerpts are from the Workplace Class Action blog of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, one of the nation’s leading national employment and labor law firms. (To read the full posting, go to workplaceclassaction.com)

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited and much anticipated opinion in Dukes, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The Supreme Court reversed, and ruled in favor of Wal-Mart.