US: 32.1M Cases - 578K Dead - 24.6M Recovered
Worldwide: 138.9M Cases - 2.9M Dead - 114.6M 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: 282
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Reality is: There's no end in sight, plain & simple
Fauci: No Such Thing as Herd Immunity
“Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, has said that herd immunity is an ‘elusive concept’ and there is no definitive percentage of the population that needs to be vaccinated to achieve it.

“He told BBC Radio 4 Today that a return to normality would be gradual, and is ‘not going to be like a light switch going on and off.’”

This, then, is the reality of our future.

● There is no immediate end in sight
● The idea of herd immunity protecting us all at some point (if Fauci is right) will not happen
● The virus will continue to mutate, with new variants continuing to appear due to the pandemic continuing here in the U.S. and around the world
● We don’t know how long the current vaccines will provide protection to those who are vaccinated
● Likely, a vaccine booster will be needed in the future to address the more radical nature of the new variants
● At some point, hopefully, the World Health Organization (WHO) will declare the pandemic over, but it is not happening anytime soon
● We are in a “long haul” COVID-19 reality govtech.com

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Issues - Self-Reporting Spikes 272%
56% of young adults between 18 and 24 reporting symptoms

Young Adults Cope with Mental Health, Substance Abuse in the Pandemic
Workers are struggling with mental health and substance abuse in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research. But by a wide margin, young people are experiencing these issues in greater numbers than their older counterparts.

Insurance provider The Standard and Versta Research completed two studies on workers' mental health in 2019 and 2020 and found that the pandemic has resulted in an increase in depression and anxiety across all age groups. The 2020 Behavioral Health Impact Update found that about 39 percent of workers experienced mental health issues pre-pandemic; that number is now at 46 percent. Furthermore, 11 percent of workers reported serious mental health issues, up from 7 percent in 2019.

These increases align with recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2021 Household Pulse Survey found that 41 percent of adults in the U.S. reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression in January 2021. That's quite a contrast to data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics in the first half of 2019, which found that only 11 percent of the population was experiencing issues.

The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use
Published: Feb 10, 2021

KFF analysis of the Household Pulse Survey finds that throughout the pandemic, a large share of young adults (ages 18-24) have reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder – 56% as of December 2020 – compared to older adults. kff.org shrm.org

Editor's Note: Prime retail worker age 18-24. Just think about 56% of your employee population in that age group are coping with issues. What's the impact on the store? And is LP & AP aware of that potential and how to manage it and or deescalate it.

Michigan Governor Extends In-Office Prohibitions
MIOSHA will extend COVID restrictions in offices for six months
The latest restrictions included an effective ban on office work that can be done remotely.

The latest restrictions were set to expire on Wednesday. Whitmer said the new extension does not mean six more months of prohibitions on in-office work and that her administration is working with businesses and public health experts “to promulgate what that back-to-work cadence looks like.”

The current restrictions require remote work when it is feasible, something that is largely dependent on each business’s capabilities both financially and technologically to enable and sustain remote work.

Last month, business leaders and area chambers launched a coalition calling on Gov. Whitmer to ease the policy that Michigan employers are able to bring more people back to the office. wilx.com

NYC Case Levels 'Alarmingly High'
How the Coronavirus Variants Are Spreading in New York City

New, searchable ZIP code-level data provides a close look at how contagious variants have kept New York’s case levels alarmingly high.

The number of new coronavirus cases in New York City has remained alarmingly, and stubbornly, high for weeks, even as tens of thousands of people are vaccinated daily.

A likely reason is that more contagious variants have displaced the original forms of the virus, public health officials have said, accounting for more than 75 percent of new cases, according to a recent analysis.

Until this week, the city had not said which variants were more common in which neighborhoods. But newly available ZIP code-level data provides some insight into the mix of variants circulating in the area. nytimes.com

Calif. Opens Vaccination Floodgates
Vaccination appointments now open to all 16 and older in California
Everyone in California 16 and older can now book COVID-19 vaccine appointments on the state’s My Turn appointment system. The changes to the system went into effect Wednesday night.

In Southern California, residents of Orange and Ventura counties ages 16 and up became newly eligible to book vaccine appointments through My Turn. Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Imperial counties had already made everyone 16 and older eligible. latimes.com

Flying Soon: COVID Risk Drops By Half When Airlines Keep Middle Seats Open
CDC research Says: The risk of being exposed to the coronavirus on an airline flight drops by as much as half when airlines keep middle seats open, a new study published by the U.S. government concludes, but it’s a safety practice the carriers have abandoned.

The study is the latest to roil the waters on a controversial topic: just how risky it is to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study did not attempt to estimate infection risks, and it was based on modeling done before the pandemic, so it didn’t consider rules that now require face masks on flights. latimes.com

Denver will allow restaurants to operate at 100% capacity with distancing as state turns over COVID-19 control

Sununu to Lift New Hampshire COVID Restrictions ‘Wicked Soon'
 

Parking Lot Security
CVS Ask GA. Appeals Court to Toss $43M Verdict in Robbery-Shooting Case
The lawyer for CVS said the jury's decision to apportion 95% of the liability to the store and none to the actual shooter rendered the verdict "internally inconsistent" and void.

Lawyers for CVS Pharmacy and a man who won a $43 million verdict against the drugstore chain after being shot during a 2012 parking lot robbery pleaded their cases before the Court of Appeals on Wednesday, with CVS arguing the verdict should be thrown out because the jury allocated no fault to the unknown shooter. (Never caught the shooter)

A Fulton County jury delivered a post-apportioned award of almost $43 million to a man shot in a CVS parking lot where he had arranged to buy an iPad from another person a few days before Christmas in 2012.

James Carmichael, now 54, was shot several times and underwent a half-dozen surgeries at the Moreland Avenue pharmacy in southeast Atlanta where, his lawyers said, store workers had repeatedly expressed fears for their safety, and where an employee robbed at gunpoint just three weeks prior to the Dec. 20, 2012, shooting.

“The employees had been asking for security for some time, and there was testimony that they’d had security for two or three years then dropped it,” said Law & Moran partner Pete Law. “They never really said why they dropped it,” said Law, who represents Carmichael. law.com

Former CFO of Alden Shoe Charged in $30 Million Embezzlement Scheme
Richard Hajjar, 64, of Duxbury, has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions and filing a false tax return.

From at least 2011 through October 2019, when he was terminated by Alden Shoe Co., Hajjar embezzled money by writing checks to himself from company bank accounts and transferring funds from company accounts to his personal accounts and to another individual. In total, Hajjar embezzled approximately $30 million which he used to enrich himself and to buy gifts and luxury travel for others close to him, including private flights to the Caribbean and diamond jewelry. He's facing as much as 30 years in prison and fines of hundreds of thousands. justice.gov

Hundreds of Retailers Impacted With Business Interruptions
Viewpoint: Recovering losses due to the Suez Canal blockage

Taking proactive steps with your insurance company is key

Policyholders should look to their insurance to determine if they have coverage for these types of losses. Businesses should also carefully review their contracts with suppliers and related vendors to determine if they have available insurance through those contracts, indemnification protection through those contracts, or indemnification obligations because of those contracts.

Review your company’s property insurance policies for contingent business interruption coverage, which will provide similar protection due to property damage to the Ever Given.

Coverage for cargo can also be found in cargo insurance policies or policies offering inland marine coverage and provides protection for damaged or lost cargo.

If needed, engage your broker or an attorney to challenge insurance company delays or denials. freightwaves.com

450 New EEOC Agents Coming
EEOC to Focus on 'Pay Equity & 'Rooting Out Systemic Discrimination'
Pay equity will be "front and center" for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under the Biden administration, as will efforts to root out systemic discrimination, according to Chair Charlotte Burrows. Beyond that, she said during an April 8 American Bar Association conference, she’ll be working to strengthen the EEOC as an institution.

"We're facing a very urgent issue — as all of you know — of systemic discrimination and systemic racism," Burrows said. "So you should expect first and foremost a renewed attention to tackling systemic discrimination in all forms on all bases, while also looking of course to advance those individual charges, and that's including but not limited to race discrimination."

With respect to strengthening the commission, Burrows said she’s focused on staffing. During fiscal year 2020, EEOC’s full-time staff dropped to its lowest level since 1980, she noted, "so one of the first things I did was to authorize hiring of about 450 new staff across the agency."

Burrows has served on the commission for years but was recently elevated to chair by President Joe Biden, a position held by Republicans in recent years.

Expect to see 'pay reporting to its EEO-1 filing requirements. hrdive.com

McDonald’s to mandate anti-harassment training worldwide
McDonald’s said Wednesday that it will mandate worker training to combat harassment, discrimination and violence in its restaurants worldwide starting next year.

The training will be required for 2 million workers at 39,000 stores worldwide.

The change is part of a larger reckoning over sexual harassment at the world’s largest burger chain. At least 50 workers have filed charges against the company over the last five years, alleging physical and verbal harassment and, in some cases, retaliation when they complained. The problem wasn’t confined to restaurants. In November 2019, McDonald’s fired its former CEO Steve Easterbrook after he acknowledged having a relationship with an employee.

Kempczinski said he hopes McDonald’s anti-harassment effort becomes a model for the restaurant industry. apnews.com
 

The Big News of the Week, if not the Month & Year

March Sales Are Back - Is this the watershed moment?
All the news outlets covering it

'How Long Will The Boom Last'
Boy what a difference one month can have

Sales Boom May Be More Than Fleeting Flurry
The big question on the economy is no longer whether demand is going to boom in the months ahead, but how long that boom will last. The answer will dictate everything from how quickly the job market recovers to how high inflation goes to how soon the Federal Reserve begins tightening policy.

The Commerce Department on Thursday reported that retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 9.8% in March from a month earlier, coming back strongly after a winter-weather-related dip in February. Sales are now 17% above their level in February 2020, before the Covid-19 crisis struck.

Thursday’s report showed outperformance in areas that were hurt badly by the crisis, such as restaurants and bars, apparel retailers and department stores.

March sales exceeded economists’ estimates, but the idea that demand is going to jump by a lot this year is hardly controversial. Economists surveyed by IHS Markit now forecast on average that real, or inflation-adjusted, gross domestic product will be 6.7% higher in the fourth quarter than it was in the same period of last year. The following year they think growth will slip to a still robust, but manageable, 3.4%. Fed officials envision the economy following a similar trajectory. wsj.com

NRF: Retail's 'Huge' 18% March Increase
March Retail Sales See Strong Rebound Amid Increased Vaccination and Government Stimulus
Retail sales rebounded with huge gains in March as government checks fattened consumers’ bank accounts and more vaccination against COVID-19 made it easier for shoppers to get out of the house and lead the acceleration of the U.S. economy, the National Retail Federation said today.

“The dramatic increase of nearly 18 percent in March retail sales over the same period last year confirms that a confident consumer is driving the economic rebound, and that should continue through the remainder of 2021,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “American households are clearly feeling the full effect of additional fiscal stimulus, gains in the job market and the reopening of the economy. Although there have been some recent issues related to vaccines, consumer confidence remains high and an optimistic outlook for the future continues to grow. Retailers remain committed, transparent and emphatic about prioritizing customer and employee safety as they welcome shoppers back into their stores this spring.”

The U.S. Census Bureau today said overall retail sales in March were up 9.8 percent seasonally adjusted from February and up 27.7 percent year-over-year. That compares with a monthly decrease of 2.7 percent and a yearly gain of 6.7 percent in February. Despite occasional month-over-month declines, sales have grown year-over-year every month since June 2020, according to Census data.

NRF’s calculation of retail sales – which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants to focus on core retail – showed March was up 7.4 percent seasonally adjusted from February and up 17.7 percent unadjusted year-over-year. That compared with a month-over-month decrease of 3.4 percent and a year-over-year increase of 7.2 percent in February. NRF’s numbers were up 12.7 percent unadjusted year-over-year on a three-month moving average. nrf.com

Specifics from key retail sectors include:

● Clothing and clothing accessory stores up 18.3 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 104.6 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

● Sporting goods stores up 23.5 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 78.2 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

● Furniture and home furnishings stores were up 5.9 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 49.6 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

● Building materials and garden supply stores were up 12.1 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 32.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

● Online and other non-store sales were up 6 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 30.7 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

● Electronics and appliance stores were up 10.5 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 29.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

● Health and personal care stores were up 5.7 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 7.7 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

● General merchandise stores were up 9 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted and up 6.1 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

● Grocery and beverage stores were up 0.7 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted but down 10.2 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

Editor's Note: Consumers went clothes shopping after being locked up for a year. And grocery is already starting to feel the restaurant pull back of consumers.

"Sour Grapes" Fraudster Removed From U.S. After Serving Sentence
ICE Deports Netflix 2016 Documentary, "Sour Grapes" Fraudster
Rudy Kurniawan, 44, is featured in the Netflix 2016 documentary, “Sour Grapes,” which describes the story of a scheme that flooded the American wine market with fake vintage wine valued in the millions of dollars. He is a public safety threat because of his aggravated felony conviction.

Officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) removed an Indonesian citizen Thursday who, following a federal investigation, was convicted in New York of selling millions of dollars in counterfeit wine to affluent clients over nearly a decade.

On March 3, 2012, the FBI in Los Angeles arrested Kurniawan for mail and wire fraud, and on Aug. 7, 2014, he was convicted of the same charges. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. On Nov. 6, 2020, pursuant to the immigration detainer, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) released Kurniawan to the custody of ERO El Paso, pending his removal. He arrived at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang City, Bann, Indonesia, on Friday. ice.gov

100K More Full-Time Positions
Walmart to convert most U.S. part-time store workers to full-time

20K New Employees - 1,000 New Stores
Dollar General to hire 20K new employees across its business

Amazon and Target push back on voting restrictions, Walmart passes