It’s Christmas time. And that means it is the best time of the year to go shopping. No crowded stores, no long lines, no fighting over a pair of on-sale shoes that I want to buy someone–definitely not myself, though, all my Christmas shopping is for my loved ones–with a lady who also wants to buy those shoes for someone–definitely not herself. Oh wait! That doesn’t sound like any Christmas shopping that I have ever done. Mine sounds more like this story (which took place in January 2011 not at Christmas, but which stills sounds like something that would happen at Christmas).

Frank Maio saw what my sisters would tell you was Princess Parking out in front of a Deerfield Beach shoe store. (Princess Parking, as defined by Urban Dictionary, is “just like rock star parking or prime parking; when one finds the perfect parking spot, right next to or in front of the entrance to wherever he or she is going.”) But when he went to claim the spot, something horrible occurred: Clausel Pierre pulled into the spot first!

Now, we all have experienced and/or caused this event. When it happens to me, I yell things I am not proud of yelling and fume about it for hours while plotting a revenge that I have absolutely no intention of actually enacting as big as I talk. So imagine how much I cheered when I heard what Maio did to handle this situation.

Courtesy of Giphy.

He asked Pierre to move. Tough, right? I wouldn’t have the guts to confront the guy at all; however, that actually was not the end of it. Pierre said no. I mean, he claimed something along the lines of it wasn’t reserved and he got there first and blah blah blah a whole lot of stuff that might have been true but certainly did not get Maio the royal parking spot he felt he deserved. So then he had to go a step farther.

Did I happen to mention that Maio was an off-duty cop who was at the shoe store to do some moonlighting as a security guard? Well, that is exactly what was happening here. And believe me, this cop was not afraid to use his power for his own gain. Park in the spot he wanted? Well, do not think he would be too mature to arrest you for that. Don’t believe me? Ask Pierre. Because yes, he was arrested for parking in the spot this police officer wanted.

Pierre was so confused that he was being arrested, that he called 911. You can listen to a recording of the call below. According to Pierre, the officer not only arrested him, he roughed him up a bit too.

Pierre has been fighting the charges against him (including battery against law enforcement and resisting arrest) for two years and finally he had some success! The charges were dropped (since apparently a judge realized that Maio’s statements over the last couple of years were conflicting); however, Pierre was not throwing a party over his victory. He said he’d been hurt and he wanted payback. So he recently initiated a lawsuit.

Courtesy of Giphy.

Will he win? I don’t know. But I do know that this whole thing has taught me a lesson: when someone takes a spot I think belongs to me, it might seem like a good idea to fight for it, after all, it is the principal of the thing, but if I am still fighting for it years later, it might have been an even better idea to just park a couple of spots down. Oh. And if I ever become a cop, I am going to do my best not to arrest people on trumped up charges no matter how tempting it might be to arrest the person who got in front of me at the grocery store with 500 million items when I only had like two and then wouldn’t let me cut–but I am digressing, because really, abuse of power only comes back to sue you in the long run.

Ashley Shaw

Ashley Shaw is an Alabama native and current New Jersey resident. A graduate of both Kennesaw State University and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, she spends her free time reading, writing, boxing, horseback riding, playing trivia, flying helicopters, playing sports, and a whole lot else. So maybe she has too much spare time. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Off-Duty Cop Arrests Man for Taking Parking Spot appeared first on Law Street.

There have been multiple claims recently of big retailers profiling and discriminating against customers of certain races. Law Street’s own Katherine Fabian did a great piece on the discrimination allegations surrounding the popular department store Barney’s. Most of these allegations involved retail workers being asked to follow certain customers–usually black–around stores, or police officers accusing them of using fake credit cards. But an entirely new racial profiling case is dominating the retail news this week, and it’s all about the makeup and cosmetics giant Sephora. There is a lawsuit in progress against Sephora that claims they discriminated against Asian customers by shutting down their accounts and not allowing them to access the same deals as other customers.

If you shop regularly at Sephora you can gain access to particular deals, as well as rack up points that eventually lead to discounted products. A few weeks ago, Sephora announced a huge sale–20 percent off of pretty much anything for their top-purchasing customers. Of course, those customers went nuts over the sale, because it offered serious discounts on products that almost never see slashed prices.

They went so nuts, in fact, that they crashed Sephora’s website. Sephora blamed the crash on people trying to buy huge quantities of the discounted products in bulk, so that they could turn around and sell them in order to make a small profit. There is a known market for this kind of behavior. While the site was coming back online, multiple customers saw their accounts either deactivated or locked out.

There was one thing that a bunch of these locked out or deactivated customers found they had in common though. They were of Asian descent, particularly of Chinese descent. This was discovered when various annoyed customers complained on social media, and quickly began to see a theme.

Four of these customers–Xiao Xiao, Man Xu, Jiali Chen, and Tiantian Zou–have filed a class action suit against Sephora alleging racial discrimination. The suit claims that Sephora discriminated against anyone “of perceived Chinese/Asian descent based on the ill-founded and discriminatory belief that all Chinese/Asian customers abuse discount sales to engage in bulk purchase for re-sale.” Sephora patently denies that any sort of discrimination ever took place. A statement from their company reads:

This lawsuit significantly distorts the facts in this matter. We look forward to defending our actions in court. Among other points, we intend to make very clear that clients from a number of countries around the world have been impacted by a temporary block we needed to place on accounts in order to restore the functionality of our site during a surge of activity by resellers during a promotional event two weeks ago.

The lawsuit has officially been filed by the four women, who live in the United States and were formerly devoted Sephora customers, in the Southern District of New York U.S. District Court. While time will tell, I have a feeling that Sephora will have a hard time arguing that this was all just some horrible coincidence. We may soon see the makeup giant on the same shameful list as Barney’s and other stores that have gotten flagged for racial discrimination.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Makeup Retailer Sephora Accused of Racial Discrimination appeared first on Law Street.

As both a holiday shopper and retail-worker veteran, I’ve experienced Black Friday from inside and out. Despite the fact that I’m not really an active bargain-hunter (I prefer to be surprised by deals as I’m randomly browsing), it’s a tradition for me to visit my local mall every year, whether I’m working in a store or shopping myself. This year I’ll be running around the Banana Republic store at The Mall at Short Hills, one of the most sophisticated malls in the country (but trust me, even there people can behave a little primitively for a good deal, especially on Black Friday). So with the big day just a week away, I’d like to share some tips on surviving the holiday without running into any legal troubles. Happy shopping!

1. Don’t Trample and/or Kill Retail Workers

Remember back in 2008 when a Walmart employee died upon opening the doors for anxious shoppers? There have apparently been seven Black Friday-related deaths and 90 injuries since 2006. While Walmart should be held somewhat accountable, given the unfair ways it treats its employees, shoppers also need to calm down. I know heavy advertising and tempting deals can certainly feed into the hype and excitement of getting to be the first one in the store, but come on guys, you’re supposed to show gratitude on Thanksgiving. Don’t be so greedy.

2. Don’t Show Up Until Thanksgiving is Officially Over

With more and more stores opening on Thanksgiving Day to accommodate shoppers who choose to spend their holiday waiting in line instead of being with their families, retail workers end up missing out on spending the holiday with their families too. Lucky magazine compiled a list of its favorite stores that will not be open on Thanksgiving. Support them! I know being around family can be stressful, but some people actually like their families. So out of respect for retail workers, spend the day enjoying your family’s company at home–and then maybe peace out early saying you have to rest up for the next day. (Kidding! Okay, well, kind of.)

3. Please, For the Love of God, Try to Keep the Stores Neat

As a visual specialist, nothing angers me more than setting up a display only for a customer to dismantle it the second I turn around. You know what’s part of a sales associate’s job description? Finding the right size for customers. So when in doubt just ask, because it’s a lot easier for the person who folded the pile to begin with to pull a size, than for a customer who may already have their hands full of other items. That said…

4. …Please Be Patient with Sales Associates and Any Other Store/Mall Employees

Believe it or not we actually want to help you. It makes us happy and will make you happy. Trust me. Personally I am a very independent shopper. I don’t really like talking to people when I shop; I rarely even bring friends with me. But sometimes a manager or associate whose job it is to know all about the product may be able to offer something that you never would have known if you hadn’t given them your time of day. Did you know those shirts are non-iron? Those jeans come in three other washes. That dress would look great with these shoes. If you spend over $100 dollars today you get a free gift with purchase. I swear we’re not JUST trying to make a sale (most stores don’t even pay commission anymore), we just really like to help and offer our opinions, like we would for a friend.

But at the same time, try not to be too demanding of employees. Sometimes an associate, or even a manager may not know something about a product, because they are not the ones who produce the item. If you have any questions that store employees are not sure about, check out the store’s website or call its corporate headquarters. Customer service extends well beyond a company’s brick-and-morter locations.

5. Don’t Forget to Give!

Part of the reason I’ve loved working for Gap Inc. over the last three years is that they always give back. Every holiday season, stores “Adopt a Family” so employees can buy gifts for a family in need. And with around 100 employees per store, that’s a lot of potential to give. My store collects non-perishable foods from employees, as well. But there are still opportunities for customers to give too. Saks Fifth Avenue has had a partnership with St. Jude’s since 2006 and they host a lot of auctions and benefits, especially around the holidays. And of course there’s Macy’s famous Believe campaign with Make A Wish Foundation where for every letter to Santa put in their mailbox, they’ll donate one dollar. Also, don’t just ignore that Santa standing out in the cold collecting money for the Salvation Army. I usually just drop my change from Starbucks in there because it’s already in my hand anyway.

Have fun and happy holidays!

Katherine Fabian

Katherine Fabian is a recent graduate of Fordham University’s College at Lincoln Center. She is a freelance writer and yoga teacher who hopes to one day practice fashion law and defend the intellectual property rights of designers. Contact Katherine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Your Foolproof Black Friday Guide, Fashion Law Edition appeared first on Law Street.

In a lot of places Black Friday and the hours leading up to it has become as commonplace as Thanksgiving itself. After stuffing themselves on turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing, whole families crowd into the car to go wait out in the freezing cold (if you live anywhere in the North) and then fight over discounted TVs until the sun comes up. Black Friday has been starting earlier and earlier, but finally, some retailers are putting their feet down. There is an increasing number of companies that say they’re not going to open Thanksgiving night, or at the very least, late on Thanksgiving night.

The growing list of stores that aren’t going to open Thanksgiving night include Costco, Nordstrom, Patagonia, Dillard’s, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond, DSW, Gamestop, Hobby Lobby, and TJ Maxx. Other stores are using a different approach–Best Buy is going to open at 5:00pm, as opposed to 6:00pm last year, but then will close earlier so that employees can go home and get some sleep.

Others big retailers are planning on opening Thanksgiving night, or even earlier. Radio Shack, for example, has explained that three thousand of its stores will open at 8:00am on Thanksgiving Day.

The idea that some may close has thrown shopping centers into near-panic. Walden Gallaria, near Buffalo, New York, announced that any stores that don’t open when the mall does at 6:00pm will be fined. There’s no indication how much the fine will be, but apparently it’s enough that some smaller retailers have changed their plans and will be operating on Thanksgiving. Shaun Deutsch, who manages the small Tee Shirt University store, said:

We’re just stuck following the rules, because if we didn’t, we’d be fined by the mall and being a small company, that’s substantial to us. We can’t just pay that. We have to stay open. It’s been a lot different this year trying to find people to work. It’s not been easy. I’ve been forced to schedule myself because I can’t find anyone else, really, to help me out.

The idea that stores would be forced to open on Thanksgiving doesn’t sit very well with me, whether it be a small mom-and-pop shop, or big-box retailers. I applaud the stores that are taking steps to make sure that their employees don’t have to come in too early or at all.

What’s important to remember is that being open on Thanksgiving disproportionately affects certain parts of the population–minimum wage workers, young people, the lower class. Here’s an infographic from Demos that shows the demographics of the retail work force, with a particular focus on the low-wage earning segment.

Courtesy of Demos.

Many of the people who work retail could very much use a vacation–especially near the holiday season. As hours get longer and customers angrier, many of these workers may not see a day off until Christmas; and it’s almost certain that they don’t have the advantage of paid time off. For some, going in on Thanksgiving may be the difference between keeping and losing their job. All because some of us can’t wait to go get that gigantic flat screen.

Certain things–hospitals, police stations, gas stations–obviously need to be open on Thanksgiving. Retail stores simply don’t.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Don’t Be Jerks: Let Retail Stores Close on Thanksgiving appeared first on Law Street.