New CA Laws Crack Down on 'Large Scale, Sophisticated Theft'
Online Marketplaces: It’s Time Track, Verify and Disclose Seller Info
A new set of California laws will require online marketplaces to gather verifiable identifying information about high volume third party sellers, or else boot them off the platform. The laws, which seek to combat the resale of stolen goods online, call for marketplaces and sellers to ramp up their consumer disclosures around sellers’ identities and options for consumers to report suspected stolen goods.

Companies hosting digital platforms should look closely at the new online marketplace laws, which carry steep civil penalties and quick operational deadlines coming up in February and July 2023.

Why is California cracking down on the resale of stolen goods now?

Organized crime rings are increasingly counting the mass resale of goods stolen from retailers among their areas of focus. Large scale, sophisticated theft from retail stores have become increasingly common over the past few years, with studies showing retail theft causes an annual industry-wide impact of tens of billion of dollars. The growing popularity of online marketplaces creates an opportunity for sophisticated criminal groups to operate as online resellers to turn around huge amounts of stolen goods through seemingly legitimate digital storefronts.

California is one of many states nationwide whose law enforcement agencies are trying to curb organized online retail crime. The Organized Retail Crime Task Force within California Highway Patrol states it has recovered nearly $26 million in stolen retail merchandise since it’s inception in 2018.

What do the marketplace laws require?

The new marketplace laws will impact multiple operational functions and include specific consumer disclosure requirements, all on tight timeframes.  Beginning February 1, 2023, online marketplaces must display the California Attorney General’s suspected stones goods reporting link on their platforms in a sufficiently clear and conspicuous manner.

Putting it Into Practice

Companies should look closely to determine whether they are covered by the new marketplace laws. Covered entities will need to implement processes to collect and validate seller information, and prepare for the required consumer disclosures. jdsupra.com


NYC's 'Sanctuary City' Status Could Save Shoplifting Migrants from Deportation
Migrants busted for shoplifting in NY won’t be deported — unless they’re convicted
Four migrants who were busted for allegedly shoplifting at a Long Island Macy’s after being bused to the Big Apple from Texas won’t face deportation — unless they’re convicted, sources and legal experts said Tuesday.

The men, who are charged with stealing more than $12,000 in merchandise from Macy’s Roosevelt Field earlier this month, are getting a break because they are asylum seekers, not illegal immigrants who crossed the US border.

“They are given the benefit of the doubt because they have a pending application with the [US Citizenship and Immigration Services],” Queens-based immigration lawyer Luis Nicho told The Post. “[The Department of Homeland Security] would normally disqualify you for asylum and put you in the process of being deported,” Nicho said.

Law enforcement are likely waiting to see how the case will shake out, and if the shoplifters cop to a lesser crime, they may still be eligible for asylum, he said.

The accused thieves — Wrallan Cabezas Meza, 19, Miguel Angel Rojas, 21, Rafael Rojas, 27, and Jose Garcia Escobar, 30 — are accused of driving from Manhattan to the Nassau County mall on Jan. 9 and walking off with the goods. They were caught when cops pulled over their 2006 BMW, which had bogus plates, according to criminal complaints filed in the case.

Nicho said the Empire State’s immigration “sanctuary” status also plays a role.

The attorney added, “Without an actual criminal conviction, you’re asking the local police to enforce civil immigration laws ... The sanctuary city status helps, with so many advocates in the city for them." nypost.com  dailymail.co.uk
 

Atlanta Retailers Under Siege
Shoplifters have set fire to two Walmarts and a Target in Atlanta to create diversions while they steal

Officials tell local media the blazes appear to have been used as diversions for shoplifting.

Retail thieves appear to be using ever more brazen methods to steal merchandise.

Officials in Atlanta confirmed to local media Tuesday that a fire at a Target on Monday was being investigated as arson, along with a pair of similar incidents at local Walmarts in December.

The three blazes appear to have been set by shoplifters in order to distract attention from their heists, the Atlanta Fire Department said.

"Arson is an extremely violent crime that not only destroys property but also places firefighters, first responders and the general public at great risk," Henry Countryman, an arson supervisor with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, said in a statement.

Similar theft-related fires have broken out in cities and towns across the US, mostly at big-box stores including Walmart, Target, and Home Depot.

One California man was charged last year with setting a Home Depot on fire while stealing thousands of dollars worth of power tools. The resulting blaze reportedly required 100 first responders, destroyed $17 million in inventory, and was detected by a satellite orbiting the earth. businessinsider.com


Detroit Fire-Bombings Hit Multiple Stores
String of Fire-Bombings in Detroit Under Investigation

A string of fires that hit multiple businesses in Detroit has residents on edge.

A Detroit man working on renovating a funeral home on the city’s east side fell victim to a suspicious firebombing. That’s not the only suspicious fire in the neighborhood in the past few weeks, as at least three fires have been reported along Chalmers Street near east Outer Drive, and people living there fear a firebug may be on the loose.

“I was asleep, and the next thing I know, I hear a loud bang and then boom,” said Lawrence Pillow

Pillow came within a minute or two of being overcome by toxic smoke last Friday (Jan. 20) morning after something came crashing through the window of the apartment he kept on the top floor of the building. But he is just the latest victim along the stretch of Chalmers Street to fall victim to fire.

Two weeks ago, a market and a liquor store burned on the same day. Witnesses told Local 4 they watched a car pull up and someone get out and firebomb the market. Pillow’s building is the fourth to burn.

Detroit fire is investigating, but this is the first time someone has been inside when a fire struck. Pillow could have been killed. He’s worried if this keeps up, someone will lose their life, as he almost lost his.

“I guess, evidently, they are just burning up all of the buildings over here on Chalmers,” Pillow said. “Two minutes later, I would have been dead.”  privateofficerbreakingnews.blogspot.com


California Has One of Lowest Rates of Gun Deaths in U.S.
California already has nation’s strictest gun laws. Mass shootings could spur push to go even further
California already ranks among the states with the most restrictive gun control laws. And by some measures they are working: the state has among the lowest rates of gun deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a report by the Public Policy Institute of California found the state had a lower rate of mass shootings than the national average.

Dr. Amy Barnhorst, associate director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis, said the state’s “patchwork of sensible evidence-based firearm laws” has contributed to those better outcomes.

“It’s hard to say it’s this law or that law in particular, but all of them working in concert together probably is what reduces our rates,” Barnhorst said. “We have something in place for a lot of different scenarios, which is really important because ultimately the one thing that mass shooters have in common is their guns, but they’re an increasingly diverse group and have a whole variety of motivations.”

But California’s aggressive laws can do only so much. Several recently passed state gun laws also have been eviscerated by the federal courts and, given the expansive interpretation of the constitutional right to bear arms by the current conservative majority of the Supreme Court, any new laws passed by California lawmakers could suffer a similar fate. latimes.com


Stores' Hands-Off Approach to Thieves
Why don’t stores do more to stop shoplifters?
The National Retail Federation reported that in 2021, total losses from shoplifting hit $94 billion. That cost can be passed on to other shoppers, but there’s also a risk when trying to stop shoplifters.

A representative for a food worker union in Washington said most of the employees they represent are told to not stop shoplifters. The reason is simple, there’s the chance of injury to the employee, the thief, and other shoppers. That can also lead to lawsuits.

Stores have invested in better cameras, anti-theft devices, and sometimes private security. But there is concern that the hands-off approach is leading to an increase in crime. wkyt.com
 

A downtown Dallas 7-Eleven that averaged one police call a day has closed
Potential customers avoided the location, even though it was the only convenience store in an area with enough pedestrian traffic to support such a business.

New Florida Ordinance Requires Police & Security for Bars Open After Midnight
If passed, the ordinance would require downtown bars to close at midnight. If a bar owner wanted to keep their business open until 2 a.m., they would need a special permit and would have to pay for additional police officers, a private security guard, metal detectors, and ID scanners.

Amid a Plague of Shootings, Bystanders Become Heroes
 
House Dems seek classified briefing on mass shootings

US: 103.9M Cases - 1.1M Dead - 101M Recovered
Worldwide: 673.9M Cases - 6.7M Dead - 645.9M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 830

Led By Former AP Exec, Lowe's Emerged from COVID 'Much Stronger'
How a Black Friday website crash prepped Lowe’s for the pandemic

CEO Marvin Ellison said the 2018 incident spurred changes that paid off two years later when the retailer saw a huge surge in demand.

In 2018, Lowe’s e-commerce site crashed on the worst day possible for any retailer: Black Friday. When the company started investigating the reasons behind the crash, the answer was “very simple,” Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison said. “The entire e-commerce site was a decade old.”

Ellison realized that the primary thing the company had to do was get the site on the cloud, “so we would not have the volume limitations and we could also have the ability to make the necessary updates and changes,” Ellison told a crowd last week at the National Retail Federation’s conference in New York City.

“We went to work on the fundamentals,” Ellison said, as the company worked to develop its operations.

And focusing on the foundational elements of retail helped Lowe’s to be ready when COVID-19 hit the United States a couple of years later. Demand in the home improvement category surged, particularly in the early days of the pandemic, as people’s residences served as the primary location for work, school and entertainment.

“If we had not made those investments in retail fundamentals, it would have been a catastrophically bad environment for our customers, and to us as a company,” Ellison said.

Even as demand has slowed for the sector overall, Lowe’s emerged from the pandemic as a “much stronger, more profitable and far larger business,” according to comments last year by GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders.  retaildive.com


New COVID Boosters Effective in Reducing Infection Risk
Updated Covid boosters cut infection risk from subvariant by nearly half
The updated Covid boosters reduce the risk of Covid infection from the predominant omicron subvariant by nearly half, according to early data published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In adults up to age 49, the latest boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were 48% effective against symptomatic infection from the XBB.1.5 subvariant, the new report said. As of Jan. 21, that subvariant accounted for about 1 in 2 new cases in the United States.

Protection was lower in older groups: The boosters were 40% effective in adults ages 50 to 64 and 43% effective in people 65 and older.

The Covid boosters were modified in the summer to target the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants, in addition to the original strain of the coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China, in 2019. nbcnews.com


Work from home success linked to work/life boundaries

China Covid: Coffins sell out as rural losses mount
 

Dollar General Slapped With $15M+ in OSHA Fines Since 2017
"Dollar General continues to intentionally ignore federal safety standards"

OSHA Proposes $395K in Penalties for Dollar General After Workers Found Exposed to Multiple Hazards at Another Store

The discount retailer, which has been previously cited by OSHA, is facing citations for five repeat violations.

Discount retailer Dollar General is facing $395,717 in new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for five repeat workplace safety violations, the agency announced January 23. In an inspection of a West Lafayette, Ohio, location, federal investigators found workers exposed to blocked emergency exits and electrical panels and boxes of merchandise stacked at unsafe heights.

According to the agency, Dollar General and its corporate parent, Dolgencorp LLC, also face 100 open safety investigations nationwide. OSHA has fined Dolgencorp and Dollar General more than $15 million since 2017 for willful, repeat, and serious workplace safety violations.

Dollar General and Dolgencorp, headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, operate more than 18,000 stores and 17 distribution centers in 47 states, employing about 167,000 full- and part-time workers, according to OSHA.

“Dollar General continues to intentionally ignore federal safety standards while the company’s defiance shows they value profits more than the safety and wellbeing of employees,” Larry Johnson, OSHA’s Columbus, Ohio, area director, said in an agency statement.

“Dollar General’s unwillingness to make changes across its organization and, as importantly, at stores where hazards persist should be a serious concern for workers and shoppers alike.”

OSHA already placed Dolgencorp and Dollar General in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). Companies in the SVEP are subject to mandatory follow-up inspections, enhanced settlement provisions, and possible enforcement action in federal court. Last year, OSHA expanded its criteria for placing employers in the SVEP.

However, the agency also decided to allow employers to exit the program early by accepting settlement agreements that include safety and health management programs that meet OSHA guidelines. safety.blr.com ohsonline.com


Sparks Fly Ahead of Another Retail Union Election
Trader Joe’s Posts 'Anti-Union Propaganda' Ahead Of Election At Kentucky Store

The union Trader Joe's United has organized two stores and hopes to add a third in Louisville this week.

Workers at a Trader Joe’s store in Louisville will vote this week to determine whether they become the chain’s third store to form a union in less than a year. Trader Joe’s has told employees there it welcomes a fair election, but the company doesn’t sound thrilled with the prospect of another organized store.

A photo shared with HuffPost shows the Louisville location’s break room door filled with what the union supporter called “anti-union propaganda.” One flier offered scary-sounding “facts” about collective bargaining, warning that unions promise whatever they need to in order to secure votes.

Another flier warned that workers’ flexibility could vanish under a collective bargaining agreement. “Think of every time an exception or adjustment was made for you. Will that be allowed under a contract?” huffpost.com


Facial Recognition Technology's Global Expansion
Facial recognition market to grow by 16.41% Y-O-Y in 2023

Increasing instances of identity threats, along with growing popularity, will drive growth

In 2017, the facial recognition market was valued at USD 3847.18 million. From a regional perspective, North America held the largest market share, valued at USD 1,444.23 million. The facial recognition market size is estimated to grow by USD 7634.09 million from 2022 to 2027 at a CAGR of 18.11% according to Technavio.

Major drivers of this growth include: Increasing instances of identity threats; Rising popularity of facial recognition; and adoption of 3D facial recognition technology. prnewswire.com


NRF: Consumers Plan to Increase Valentine’s Day Spending to Nearly $26 Billion
Consumers are expected to spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day this year, up from $23.9 billion in 2022 and one of the highest spending years on record, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. More than half (52%) of consumers plan to celebrate and will spend an average of $192.80. This is up from $175.41 in 2022, and the second-highest figure since NRF and Prosper started tracking Valentine’s Day spending in 2004. nrf.com

 
Walmart confirms it’s closing a number of locations

Struggling Red Lobster Announces More Store Closures

Kohl’s Closing In on Naming Permanent C.E.O.