Athletic apparel Retailer Foot Locker has been sued in New Jersey court for violating the terms of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act. The consumer laws limit the amount that retailers can charge on inactive gift cards and defines how retailers must publish the terms and conditions of these gift cards.
The suit, filed by Joseph Vona of Middlesex, NJ, alleges that Foot Locker violates the state consumer laws by charging fees after 12 months of gift card inactivity, where NJ law states a minimum of 24 months must have elapsed, and (more interestingly) he alleges that the terms and conditions are written on the gift card in a font size smaller than what the NJ law requires. NJ law requires the terms and conditions to be written in a font size no smaller than 10 points. This suit has ramifications for retailers and designers, alike.
This is an interesting case to watch locally, as I believe it is the first test of the New Jersey Gift Card Act. I’m pro-consumer in this case.
Anyone have a photo of a Foot Locker gift cards? I’d love to see the type size on it.
Photo from Flickr user Genista, used under Creative Commons.
To update last week’s story about the sweatshop allegations levied against a factory that produces Daisy Fuentes clothing for Kohl’s, it appears that things are straight now and they have agreed to update their policies and follow proper labor laws:
A Guatemalan factory that makes some of Daisy Fuentes’ clothing for Kohl’s Corp. has agreed to make changes following allegations it was a sweatshop, a workers’ rights group said Thursday.
The National Labor Committee issued a report on the Fribo factory last month, saying workers told a related group they are humiliated and forced to work unpaid overtime.
[...]
The NLC said the factory owner, a South Korean national, has agreed to weekly inspections by CEADEL, the Center for Studies and Support of Labor Development in Guatemala, which told NLC of workers’ complaints.
More on this from Forbes.
Looks like Kohl’s is on the receiving end of some sweatshop allegations:
Kohl’s Corp. removed some lines of its Daisy Fuentes clothing brand following allegations that the Guatemalan factory where the clothes are made is a sweatshop, where workers are humiliated and forced to work unpaid overtime.
The National Labor Committee, a New York-based workers rights group, issued a report after learning of complaints by workers at the Fribo factory in rural Santa Maria Cauque de Sacatepequez, Guatemala.
Kohl’s (nyse: KSS – news – people ), based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., has pulled only a few styles of Daisy merchandise, from its stores and online, spokeswoman Vicki Shamion said. Kohl’s buys Fuentes merchandise from P.A. Group LLC and does not oversee production, she said.
Workers at the Guatemalan factories say they were forced to work overtime, much of it unpaid, and forced to endure harsh conditions in hot factories with little access to bathrooms or clean water.
More coverage from Forbes.
Oops. From NBCSanDiego.com:
A woman and her daughter filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Best Buy’s Geek Squad in which they accused a computer technician of videotaping the daughter while she was in the shower.
The mother said she hired the tech, who faces criminal charges, March 2 at the Best Buy in Industry.
Natalie Fornaciari said the technician used her daughter’s bathroom and allegedly positioned a cell phone camera in the room to catch the 22-year-old woman while she showered.
This week, a jury in Pennsylvania awarded $78 million to plantiffs in a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart. The jury found, after deliberating for two hours, that Wal-Mart was at fault for making employees miss breaks, cut breaks short, and work without pay. Coverage via Bloomberg and The Writing on the Wal.
This is the second multi-million dollar settlement against Wal-Mart for unfair labor practices in the past year. Last December, a California jury awarded a $172 settlement against Wal-Mart, citing Wal-Mart with failure to provide meal breaks for 200,000 employees (see: Wal-Mart Struck with $172M Lunch Tab).
Wal-Mart, in their defense, has posted a statement on their website, Wal-Mart Facts, about the most recent case (see: Statement on Hummel case). They say that these cases, and others in various stages of litigiation across the country, revolve around allegations from several years ago. They’ve upgraded their systems and technology in-store to avoid having this happen again. That’s great, but that still doesn’t make things right for what may have happened within the past few years, prior to installing new systems.
The thing to consider is how a case like this can send echoes throughout the entire retail industry. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer, and one of the largest companies in the world. Any time Wal-Mart has a large lawsuit or verdict in the press, be it about keeping employees off the clock, locking in employees overnight, or discriminating against minorities, I’m sure most other retailers are checking and rechecking their policies to ensure they aren’t open to face similar litigation.
Every one of these lawsuits against Wal-Mart is a wake up call to the rest of retail.
