Legal

While bad news around the economy continues to pile up — a plunging stock market, troublesome unemployment, a soft housing market, national debt that's out of control — the e-commerce industry seems unaffected. E-commerce sales are steadily rising and for many cross-channel retailers the channel is a bright spot in an otherwise dark place. This mood was certainly reflected at IRCE, where people were upbeat with where they were at and optimistic about their future.

Best Buy has reportedly agreed to pay $10.2 million in a settlement related to a job discrimination class-action lawsuit. 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.

Wal-Mart has spent 10 years fighting claims that it discriminated against female employees, but the Supreme Court victory for the company may not mean the end to litigation over discrimination claims.

An Apple store employee has started a drive to unionize retail workers of the company. Cory Moll, a part-time employee at an Apple store in San Francisco, is working to form a union to fight for better wages and benefits and to address what he says are unfair practices.

Growth in retail crime and fraud is leaving retailers racing to stop the individuals responsible for stealing billions of dollars each year. Preliminary results of the latest National Retail Security Survey, released at the National Retail Federation’s Loss Prevention Conference and EXPO, show that retail shrinkage increased to 1.58 percent of retail sales in 2010, up from 1.44 percent in 2009.

Borders Group will name a stalking horse bidder by July 1 and is looking to complete the sale of all its assets by the end of July. In court papers filed, the company was encouraged that one of the parties it's presently negotiating with will emerge as the successful buyer on a going concern basis.

Macy's workers will remain on the job after the retail giant reached a tentative deal with its union Thursday morning after a marathon bargaining session. "Following an all-night negotiating session, Macy's is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with Local 1-S of the RWDSU on a new five-year agreement," Macy's spokeswoman Elina Kazan said in a statement.

Borders, the bankrupt bookstore chain, has reached agreements with landlords to extend leases on 11 stores it had listed for possible closure, and it said it's in talks with creditors that could delay any going-out-of-business sales.

Retail crime and fraud continue to cost retailers more money every year, according to a new survey released at this week's National Retail Federation Loss Prevention Conference and EXPO. The survey, jointly conducted by the NRF and the University of Florida, revealed total retail losses cost retailers $37.1 billion last year, up from $33.5 billion in 2009.

The Texas legislature has acted to do away with any question that the mere use of a web-hosting company with a server in Texas might result in a Texas sales tax collection obligation. Both houses passed a bill that's now headed to Gov. Rick Perry, who's expected to sign it into law.