Workforce Management

New York -- Target Corp. has agreed to pay $2.8 million to resolve a hiring discrimination claim filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
 
The EEOC said three "employment assessments," which Target no longer uses, disproportionately screened out applicants based on race and gender, according to the Associated Press, and therefore violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Kohl's Corp. is adding some labor market expertise to its board.

The retailer says Jonas Prising has been elected as a new board member, effective immediately. He has been elected to a term expiring at Kohl's 2016 annual shareholders meeting and will be eligible for re-election by Kohl's shareholders at that time. He will initially serve on the Board of Directors' Governance and Nominating Committee.

The CEO of Amazon.com is hitting back against an article in the New York Times over the weekend that accuses the retailer of having a ruthless and even abusive workplace culture.

According to CNBC, an internal memo (excerpt below) from CEO Jeff Bezos being circulated at Amazon.com calls the article inaccurate and beyond “isolated anecdotes.” Bezos also made the rounds on newspaper websites and on cable TV lambasting the Times article as "not the Amazon" he knows.

Grapevine, Texas – Like many other retailers, GameStop Corp. employs seasonal hires for the holiday season. Unlike many other retailers, GameStop focuses on skill growth and professional success for its 17,000-23,000 annual seasonal hires.

Seattle – Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon.com, is reportedly blasting an article in the New York Times that accuses the retailer of having a ruthless and even abusive workplace culture. According to CNBC, in an internal memo (excerpt below), the article is inaccurate and goes beyond “isolated anecdotes.”

Retail consulting firm McMillanDoolittle, Chicago, weighs in on its blog with three reasons why any retailer using the practice of “on-call” labor scheduling should end it immediately.

New York -- A strong majority of Americans (72%) - crossing regional, political, generational, gender and income lines – believe the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is lower than it should be. However, while Americans clearly feel minimum wage should be higher, exactly how high remains a more contentious subject.

Indianapolis -- The calendar may read August, but Hhgregg is already looking to firm up its holiday hiring.

The appliance, electronics and furniture retailer announced it is hiring 550 full-time and part-time in-store sales associates. As the holiday shopping season continues to tiptoe earlier into the calendar year, Hhgregg said it is looking to have their stores fully staffed and associates trained and ready to greet shoppers getting a jump on the holiday rush.