Sift to acquire Chargeback

Sift, the leader in Digital Trust & Safety, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Chargeback, the pioneer in real-time dispute management for merchants. With the addition of Chargeback to the Sift Digital Trust & Safety Suite, merchants will gain access to a complete solution that addresses risk before, during, and after user transactions, including instances of "true" fraud and "friendly" fraud.

Never has there been a more comprehensive fraud prevention solution that enables businesses to stop fraud, increase revenue, and scale operations. Learn more
 

Crime, Violence & Protests

US: 33.9M Cases - 604.4K Dead - 27.5M Recovered
Worldwide: 168M Cases - 3.4M Dead - 149.3M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 279   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 300
*Red indicates change in total deaths

End of the Pandemic Draws Near
A vaccine marvel is bringing America back
America has never been closer to the end of this pandemic, which has inflicted the most universally experienced crisis and assault on national morale since World War II.

The near-miraculous vaccines have the virus -- which has ravaged the nation -- in retreat. Deserted cities that once echoed at night to the wail of ambulance sirens are stirring. Travelers are taking to skies and once again filling un-mothballed jets. Life, nervously for many -- and unbelievably for almost all -- is being restored.

Americans are getting used to seeing each other inside, unmasked, and learning how to hug and smile again. Grandparents are reuniting with far-flung family. Vaccinated older teens joyfully skip off to sleepovers. Sports arenas are filling for NBA and NHL playoffs.

A renaissance that started with tentative steps a few weeks ago is now moving with perceptible speed. Theme parks are opening. Welcome back to rush hour gridlock. The office beckons for those who are ready. Date night doesn't have to be in some heated restaurant tent. Back-to-school might actually mean something in September for Generation Zoom. And on Broadway, the show will soon go on.

It's now at least possible to believe Dr. Anthony Fauci's assurances in the dark days of winter that pandemics do end, even though it's natural after so much pain and deprivation to wonder whether the virus is just taking a timeout. cnn.com

Half of American Adults are Fully Vaccinated
White House expects US to reach 50% adults fully vaccinated on Tuesday
The White House expects the US will reach a new milestone on Tuesday when it comes to vaccinations, with 50% of adults becoming fully vaccinated, according to a White House official. Officials are expected to tout the numbers during today's coronavirus briefing, CNN has learned.

As of Monday, the US was at 49.8% of adults fully vaccinated, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. That means nearly 128.7 million adults are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden said he wanted 160 million US adults fully vaccinated by July 4. Overall, 49.4% of the US population age 12 and above has received at least one shot and 39.3% of the US population age 12 and above is fully vaccinated. cnn.com

Unvaccinated Shoppers are Leading the Charge
Are Vaccinated Americans Powering the Economy? Not Yet, Data Show

People who haven't received the Covid-19 vaccine are more likely to be out spending

Vaccinated consumers were less likely to go out to restaurants, salons and entertainment venues than those who don't plan to get the vaccine, April spending and survey data from market-research firm Cardify.ai show.

People who aren't vaccinated, on the other hand, tend to be more risk tolerant and are already living a relatively normal life, Mr. Fung added. "As places open up, they're the ones leading the charge."

Across the country, foot traffic-a proxy for spending-at many providers of in-person services such as airports, hotels and theaters is still below pre-pandemic levels. But it is up from the winter, and has climbed more rapidly in states with Covid-19 vaccination rates below 45% as of May 3 than in states with higher rates, according to an analysis by data company Earnest Research.

The spending and foot-traffic data suggest higher vaccination rates haven't been the primary driver behind the early stages of the economic recovery, which began in earnest this spring. This dynamic will likely change in the coming months as more people are vaccinated, Covid-19 cases drop and public-health guidance evolves, analysts say. wsj.com

Retail Spaces Turned into Vaccination Centers
COVID vaccine sites breathe life into faltering NY malls and stores
More and more vaccination clinics are popping up in once-bustling retail spaces that have gone empty, marking a new - if temporary - use for stores that were casualties of an increasingly online marketplace or even the pandemic itself.

That's the case at the Crossgates Mall, where a state-run mass-vaccination clinic now occupies the ground floor of a vacant Lord & Taylor department store, which went out of business last year.

The cases remain in place but are completely emptied out. A Lancôme cosmetics sign hangs high above the recently vaccinated waiting to go home, one of the few remnants of the store's past life.

The exterior displays, which for years had featured mannequins draped in the latest fashions, now house U.S. and New York flags. The massive Lord & Taylor sign - in the company's signature font - has been replaced by a two-story banner that says "VACCINATE NEW YORK" alongside an image of a flexed bicep with a bandage on it.

The vaccination site at the Crossgates Mall in the town of Guilderland is one of numerous vaccination sites at retail centers owned by Pyramid Management Group of Syracuse.

Public records from the state comptroller's office state the Department of Health allocated $315,000 for two vaccination sites at the Aviation Mall in Queensbury and at Crossgates in Albany. pressconnects.com

May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Employer Support Increases Loyalty & Improves Managing Stress

Employees Report Their Mental Health is Improving
Employers providing mental health resources is one reason for the uptick

In a May 2021 study of 2,000 employed adults in the U.S, entitled " Travelers Mental Wellness Checkup," a large percentage, 73%, described their mental health as being good or excellent. This was up from 67% in the early months of the pandemic.

Part of the reason for these better numbers is based on the support employees felt from their employers:

● About one in three workers who said their employer provides more than enough mental health resources also stated that loyalty to their employer increased (33%) compared to before the pandemic.

● And 30% said their ability to manage stress improved (30%) compared to before the pandemic due to available resources.

Interestingly, millennials were more likely than baby boomers to use the mental health resources provided through an employee assistance program.

So there is a lot that still needs to do be done and much will be up to employers. But perhaps it can be an opportunity for companies to get creative in devising methods, resources and programs. ehstoday.com

Can Employers Ask Job Applicants About Vaccination and COVID-19?
More employers are asking job applicants about their COVID-19 vaccination status as they try to protect co-workers and customers. But before you add this to your list of interview questions, know that there are legal limits to such questions.

Employers that are asking these questions need to make sure they're doing so appropriately. Andrew Maunz, an attorney with Jackson Lewis in Pittsburgh, said, "Determining any type of term or condition of employment based on vaccination status is going to open up a lot of legal issues for employers, so they need to think very carefully about why the person's vaccination status is relevant."

Employers should only ask applicants vaccination questions that pertain to the job.

So, if the company is not asking employees if they have been vaccinated, it should not pose that question to applicants, either.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from asking applicants questions that are likely to reveal the existence of a disability before making a job offer. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has clarified that asking employees whether they have received the COVID-19 vaccine is not a disability-related inquiry under the ADA.

"It's critical, though, that employers and their hiring teams don't overstep," Rashby said. "While asking about the vaccination itself will usually be permissible, follow-up questions that may reveal a disability can be asked only if they are job-related and consistent with business necessity." Any follow-up questions, such as asking why an individual didn't receive a vaccination, should be reserved until after making a job offer, she said.

Conditioning a job on vaccination status could lead to accommodation requests-both disability- and religious-based-and claims of discrimination by individuals under various protected bases who say they were unlawfully screened out, he noted. shrm.org

New OSHA Guidelines for COVID Vaccines
OSHA Shifts Position on Recordability of Adverse Reactions from Vaccines
In a dramatic shift in its enforcement position with respect to the recordability of adverse reactions from COVID-19 vaccines, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on May 21, 2021, published a new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) establishing that employers do not need to record adverse reactions from COVID-19 vaccines on their OSHA 300 Logs, at least through May of 2022. The enforcement position applies regardless of whether an employer requires, recommends, or incentivizes employees to receive the vaccine.

In publishing this FAQ, the Agency simultaneously removed from its website three earlier FAQs, which had distinguished an employer's obligation to record adverse reactions from the vaccines based upon whether the vaccines were required or just recommended. OSHA had previously stated in one FAQ that adverse reactions from COVID-19 vaccines that are required by an employer would be considered OSHA-recordable if they met all other recording criteria of the rule. jdsupra.com

Half of US states have fully vaccinated at least 50% of adults

Moderna says its vaccine is safe & effective in adolescents
 

The Uneven Retail Foot Traffic Recovery
Retail foot traffic rebounding faster for some than others
Foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai measured 2021 traffic against data from Q1 in 2019 to work around the disruption generated by last year's pandemic.

Discounters
Foot traffic at Walmart stores was still lagging behind 2019 levels by nearly 8% as of this April. By contrast, Target is seeing growth. In March and April, foot traffic was up 8% and 2.5% compared to the same months during 2019. Big Lots saw April foot traffic shoot up 28.5%.

Department Stores
Macy's stores were still impacted in a big way by pandemic-related restrictions in New York and California, although Chernofsky believes this positions the department store operation for a bigger comeback.

At Kohl's, March visits were down only around 15% compared to March 2019. Despite soaring year-over-year gains, JCPenney's traffic for March was down 34.4% compared to March 2019. Traffic at Dillard's, Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom was off by more than 20%.

Off-Pricers
Burlington has seen visit growth when compared to 2019 each month in 2021, with March and April showing increases of 17.2% and 8.4% respectively. Ross and T.J. Maxx have seen traffic increases compared to 2019. Marshalls saw foot traffic down 2.2% in March and 6.0% in April compared to 2019.

Warehouse Clubs
Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale Club - all of which remained open during the pandemic shutdowns last year - fared well in this year's first quarter.  hometextilestoday.com

Walmart Responds to Racist Email Controversy
Walmart sent people racist emails after 'bad actor' used their details to create accounts with fake names

Dozens of people are upset after receiving emails from an official Walmart account that contained a racial slur.

Rachael Campbell, who lives in Scotland and has no access to a Walmart store, received a message from an official Walmart email address on Monday that swapped out her first name for a racial slur. Campbell shared the email from Walmart with Insider.

Dozens of other people received similar messages, and shared screenshots of their "Welcome to Walmart" emails on Twitter. The screenshots show that these emails used the same racial slur.

Walmart confirmed the issue in a statement to Insider, saying it was "shocked and appalled to see these offensive and unacceptable emails."

"We discovered that an external bad actor created false Walmart accounts with obvious intent to offend our customers," a Walmart spokesperson said. "We're looking into our sign-up process to ensure something like this doesn't happen again. We're also looking into all available means to hold those responsible accountable."

Campbell said she was "completely shocked" that Walmart's website allowed users to register for an account using a racist slur. businessinsider.com

Poor Pay & Health Concerns Pushing Workers Away
How the pandemic pushed restaurant workers over the edge
Conway is one of the millions of workers who left the restaurant industry during the pandemic and haven't come back. The industry has 1.7 million fewer jobs filled than before the pandemic, despite posting almost a million job openings in March, along with hotels, and raising pay 3.6 percent, an average of 58 cents an hour, in the first three months of 2021.

Restaurant chains and industry groups say a shortage of workers like Conway is slowing their recovery, as the sector tries to get back on its feet amid sinking covid cases, falling restrictions and resurgent demand in many areas around the country.

In interviews with The Washington Post, 10 current and former workers expressed a wide range of reasons they are or were reluctant to return to work. Some, like Conway, have left the industry or changed careers, saying they felt like the industry was no longer worth the stress and volatility.

Others said jobs that didn't pay enough for them to make ends meet no longer felt appropriate to them. Others left after disputes with managers - over issues around safety and pay - and other flash points that have emerged in the past year.

All described the pandemic as an awakening - realizing that long-held concerns about the industry were valid, and compounded by the new health concerns. And forced to stop working or look for other jobs early on in the pandemic, many realized they had other options. washingtonpost.com

Father's Day Spending to Hit $20.1 Billion, According to NRF
U.S. consumers are expected to spend more than $20.1 billion on gifts and other items for Father's Day this year, a record high, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey conducted by Prosper Insight & Analytics. Total spending for the holiday will surpass last year's record figure of $17 billion.

The number of Americans (75 percent) who plan to celebrate the fathers, husbands and other paternal figures in their life this Father's Day is consistent with previous years. Of those celebrating, half (50 percent) plan to buy gifts for their own dad, a quarter (26 percent) plan to buy for a husband and 1 in 10 (11 percent) plan to buy for a son. nrf.com

Exercise equipment maker Peloton to build its first U.S. factory near Toledo

Disneyland and other California theme parks will return to full capacity in June