Legal

American Apparel won court approval to use a previously announced $30 million financing package from Encina Business Credit, according to the The Wall Street Journal. The bankruptcy trustee for American Apparel’s earlier Chapter 11 (from which it emerged in February) last week advocated this second bankruptcy action be shut down with prejudice, saying it's an “egregious” and…

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday let stand a Colorado tax law that pressures online retailers to collect sales tax. In its latest order list, the Court announced that it won’t hear a challenge to a February ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that sided with Colorado in a lawsuit from the retail industry.…

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office has sued four retailers, alleging deceptive advertising that it says misled shoppers into believing that thousands of products were on sale at a hefty discount. The retailers — J.C. Penney, Sears, Kohl’s and Macy’s — falsely advertised high “list” or “regular” prices on merchandise that was never actually for sale at that…

Between senior executives jumping ship during this critical shopping season and the latest round of store closures, Sears is struggling to hold on. CNBC reports sales at the department store have been dismal for some time now. Sales haven't been positive since the first quarter of 2010. Talks of Sears filing for bankruptcy have been…

More change is on the way for Staples. Reuters reports the office supplies retailer will be selling a controlling stake in its European business to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP for €50 million ($53.65 million) to focus on its North American operations. Staples’ European unit consists of retail stores and an online business in…

Bankrupt retailer American Apparel is rushing to get its affairs in order before its bankruptcy auction in January. Most recently, it moved to close nine storefronts. American Apparel said in a court filing Wednesday it intends to shut down the nine poorly performing stores by the end of the month, and before a planned auction…

Businesses in New York City may soon be fined if they force employees to work “on call” shifts that aren’t confirmed until the last minute. Supporters of the a new bill brought before City Council on Tuesday say it would give retail and fast-food workers more control over their work schedules. Under the bill, employers…

Ikea’s U.S. division will begin offering longer parental leave to all employees who are new parents starting in the New Year. The furniture retailer announced this week that it will offer 13,000 salaried and hourly employees in the U.S. up to four months of paid parental leave. The policy applies to mothers and fathers who…

Wal-Mart announced on Friday that it had settled a lawsuit that accused the company of discriminating against gay employees when it denied health insurance benefits to same-sex spouses. Under the deal, Wal-Mart will set aside $7.5 million, mostly to compensate employees affected by the denial of spousal benefits during the three years before Jan. 1,…

The merger between Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's has seem to hit a bit of a bump in the road. According to the New York Post, the Federal Trade Commission has asked Bass Pro Shops for more information on its $5.5 billion acquisition of Cabela's, a move that may hold up the deal for up…