Dive Brief:

• Union retail workers at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores, H&M, and Modell’s Sporting Goods stores in New York are among those who enjoy stable scheduling of their work hours and minimum hours.
• Meanwhile, a bill being considered by the city of San Francisco to guarantee predictable, minimum, and flexible-to-the-worker scheduling at “formula retail” — retail stores with 11 or more locations nationwide — is gaining support.
• ​State and federal officials and the courts are taking up cases of “wage theft” in industries including retail, where workers are being stiffed on overtime and in other ways that cut costs but that advocates say violate wage laws.

Dive Insight:

At the urging of President Barack Obama and others, increasing the minimum wage, which affects many workers in retail, has become a prominent issue at the federal, state, and city level. The minimum wage is seen as a way to address the income gap, which some economists say has led to consumer reluctance to spend and which in turn has affected many retailers’ bottom lines. But now other aspects of retail employees’ work environment are also coming into focus, from “wage theft” to the instability of retail work schedules.