Despite the fact that over a month has passed since Amazon announced that it would be purchasing Whole Foods for $13.4 billion, lawmakers are still worried about the changes this potential move could bring.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) has requested a subcomittee hearing on the purchase in the U.S. House of Representative due to concerns over depressed wages and stifled innovation.

“Amazon’s proposed purchase of Whole Foods could impact neighborhood grocery stores and hardworking consumers across America,” Cicilline, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, said in a statement released Friday. “Congress has a responsibility to fully scrutinize this merger before it goes ahead.”

Cicilline basically cites Amazon’s movement toward automation as to why this merger may be dangerous. He adds that the markets indicated initial fears that Whole Foods would run away with all of the market share in the U.S. grocery market. The day the purchase was announced, Target shares dropped by 9 percent, WalMart dropped 5 percent, and Kroger dropped 13 percent. It is worth noting, however, that Whole Foods only controls 1.7 percent of the current market.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently reviewing the proposed merger, meaning there still is time for the deal to fall apart–or for Washington officials to step in and stop it. But precedent indicates that that may not be likely.

Lina Khan, an associate research scholar with Yale Law School, published a lengthy analysis of Amazon’s business practices and how it has avoided antitrust issues. One of her key arguments is that since the Reagan Administration, antitrust enforcement has focused on the final price of goods for consumers. Before that, regulators would analyze the structure of a market a merger was entering into and check to see how possible it was for new competitors to enter. Since Amazon is quite good at providing lower prices to its customers, the FTC has turned a blind eye to the company’s growth.

This may lead some to believe that the Amazon-Whole Foods merger will become another example of this trend, as both companies have presented evidence that price increases are unlikely. However, Cicilline is working to change what he believes is the increasingly narrow mentality of the subcommittee. He said in his statement:

Although the role of employment and inequality in antitrust enforcement has declined in recent decades, the Subcommittee should have an active oversight role in determining whether this trend serves the public interest, is faithful to the legislative intent of the antitrust laws, or whether additional enforcement is warranted to reverse the harmful effects of consolidation on workers and labor inequality.

Cicilline is not the first lawmaker to raise concerns with the merger. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) called on the Department of Justice and FTC to review the merger–which he said could impact jobs and wages–the day the merger was announced.

“We need to reorient antitrust policy to factor in the harm that economic concentration causes for American workers,” he told Vice News. “We also need to be mindful that concentrated industries stifle innovation.”

Gabe Fernandez

Gabe is an editorial intern at Law Street. He is a Peruvian-American Senior at the University of Maryland pursuing a double degree in Multiplatform Journalism and Marketing. In his free time, he can be found photographing concerts, running around the city, and supporting Manchester United. Contact Gabe at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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A pastor who accused Whole Foods of anti-LGBTQ discrimination is now facing accusations and a lawsuit against him alleging that he made up the entire incident.

Jordan Brown, an openly gay pastor at the Church of Open Doors in Austin, Texas, filed a lawsuit against Whole Foods after he allegedly received a cake at the chain’s flagship Austin location on April 14 with an anti-gay slur written on it. While he requested that the bakery write “Love Wins” on top of the cake, he claims that the bakery associate decided to add homophobic language to it:

LOVE WINS FAG. That’s not the cake I ordered, @WholeFoods and I am offended for myself & the entire #LGBT community pic.twitter.com/cuxuv6mL3G

— Jordan D Brown (@PasJordanBrown) April 18, 2016

Brown’s suit alleges that he didn’t notice the writing until he was on his way home, and proceeded to pull the car over and call the corporate office to report what had happened. After he didn’t receive a response, he then called the store itself and received an apology from a Team Leader who promised to investigate the matter. However, a few hours later, he received a call back from the same employee who said that there appeared to be no wrongdoing on the part of the store or the bakery associate.

Brown proceeded to post a now-deleted video that same day in which he tearfully recounted the incident. He also pointed out that the seal on the box hadn’t been broken, as evidence that he hadn’t tampered with the cake.

On Tuesday, Whole Foods responded in a statement that shot down Brown’s accusations as “fraudulent.” The company also released security footage that pointed to the fact that Brown would have easily been able to see the writing through the clear portion of the packaging before he left the store. The company also stated that the bakery associate in question was a member of the LGBTQ community. As of publication, Brown hadn’t yet responded to the latest statements by Whole Foods.

If it turns out that Brown was faking the incident after all, he made a strange choice in choosing which company to go after. Whole Foods has a history of upholding LGBTQ rights as a company, offering benefits to same-sex partners since its founding and participating in pride parades. The company also reinforced its support for LGBTQ rights in its latest statement, posting a photo of its Austin staff with the caption #LoveWins.

The jury’s still out on whether or not Brown was making this up, but this response by Whole Foods is just the icing on the cake for anyone doubting his story. Stay tuned for updates.

Mariam Jaffery

Mariam was an Executive Assistant at Law Street Media and a native of Northern Virginia. She has a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in Business Administration from George Washington University. Contact Mariam at mjaffery@lawstreetmedia.com.

The post Whole Foods Shoots Down Claims of Homophobia Against Openly Gay Pastor appeared first on Law Street.

You may have noticed lately that the prices at your local grocery store have been going up, and we tend to chalk it up to many things: rising gas prices, season, time of the month, or even the moon. Many of us will even pay more to shop in certain stores. When you think of grocery stores that cost a little for the ambience, you might think of Whole Foods. Just last week, the upscale grocery chain hit a rough patch when it was discovered that it has been overcharging its customers by a lot–and it has created problems for the grocery giant.

The Problem With Whole Foods

New York City’s Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is investigating the grocery chain for “systemic overcharging for pre-packaged foods” that affected several branches of the store. It was something that they had been monitoring for a long time, and had even warned the stores about; however, they found on multiple trips that there were many problems and incorrect markings.

Some of these problems were outlined in the DCA’s report, including packages that were labeled with heavier weights than they actually were:

• Vegetable platters that were priced at about $20 a package. The packages were all different sizes, averaging about $2.50 over. One package in particular was overpriced by a whopping $6.15.
• Chicken tenders, a staple in many households, were priced at about $9.99 per pound, but were marked up by an average of $4.13.
• Berries, currently in season, were priced at $8.58 a package, but customers were overcharged by $1.15.

These charges were widespread, and though they may only look like a few dollars, they likely added up quickly over time. The DCA concluded that “New York City stores routinely overstated the weights of its pre-packaged products — including meats, dairy and baked goods — resulting in customers being overcharged.”

However, Whole Foods spokesman Michael Sinatra says that the DCA hasn’t actually confronted the store:

Despite our requests to the DCA, they have not provided evidence to back up their demands nor have they requested any additional information from us, but instead have taken this to the media to coerce us.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. Just last year, Whole Foods had to pay an $800,000 fine in California for overcharging customers. So what can we do about this problem?

Rising Prices

The prices of different foods aren’t set by the government, like many think, but instead are a result of supply and demand. While the U.S. government does track prices, they are instead set by the wholesalers and growers of food.

One of the biggest causes of rising grocery costs is the prevalence of drought throughout the United States, especially in California. Drought affects everything from the crops that need water to survive to the cows that eat the grass. However, what the government can do is make sure that grocery stores are truthful when it comes to what they charge–and they can penalize those who don’t fall in line. In fact, that is exactly what they did to Whole Foods, which was fined “$950 for the first violation and up to $1,700 for a subsequent violation. The potential number of violations that Whole Foods faces for all pre-packaged goods in the NYC stores is in the thousands.”

Other Issues

Think the problem of overcharging is limited to just Whole Foods? There are a litany of other offenses that grocery stores have committed. In 2012, the Los Angeles Superior Court handed out a settlement of $1.1 million from Ralphs Grocery Co. because it overcharged its customers at the deli stand.

Some states, like North Carolina, allow for a small over- or under- charge on deli or weighted items. North Carolina allows a 5 percent discrepancy, but that hasn’t stopped the problem of overcharging. In fact, since November 2014, nine stores were fined by the state, including Dollar General, CVS, Target, and Walgreens, according to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

What Can You Do?

Apart from reporting any discrepancies that you think you see to the management of your local grocer, what are some of the things that you can do to keep yourself from being taken advantage of?

There are multiple things you can do to check whether or not you are being charged too much at the grocery store. The New York Department of Consumer Affairs suggests checking your receipt for what can and cannot be taxed. They even offer a quick link to a hot list of items that can be taxed.

The Today Show, which did a whole segment on the charges, suggests that you should actually weigh items yourself just to make sure. Most grocery stores will have electronic scales that are fairly easy to work and will help you out. They also suggest that you should make sure you are paying for the things you actually get, and not things like ice on frozen fish or packaging.

Another suggestion is that instead of focusing on getting your money ready or looking at the candy bar display, you should watch as the cashier rings up your food items. You will catch many mistakes that way, and often they will be corrected without a fight.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, grocery stores are in the same market that everyone else is in: they want to make money. While there are governmental teams out there that can help with these problems, it is largely up to consumers to make sure that everything’s kosher.

When you are at the grocery store, try to be present and pay attention to the things you are purchasing. Understand that sometimes prices will rise and fall, but they should always be around the same price. Don’t be afraid to ask workers if something seems off, as you might just save yourself a few bucks and the company thousands in fines.

Resources

CNN: Whole Foods Accused of Massive Overcharging

New York City Consumer Affairs: Department of Consumer Affairs Investigation Uncovers Systemic Overcharging for Pre-packaged Foods at City’s Whole Foods

Salon: Whole Foods is Ripping You Off (And it Has Been For Years)

Amarillo Globe-News: Several Factors Determine Food Prices at Grocery Stores

Class Action: Court Hands Victory to Workers in Wage and Hour Lawsuit

Fox News: New York City Says Whole Foods is Overcharging Customers

Journal Sentinel: State Fines Four Stores For Overcharging Customers

NY Eatery: City Sting Reveals Whole Foods Has Been Overcharging New Yorkers Since 2010

,Today Show: Not Just Whole Foods: Beware Supermarket Overcharges

Noel Diem

Law Street contributor Noel Diem is an editor and aspiring author based in Reading, Pennsylvania. She is an alum of Albright College where she studied English and Secondary Education. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, theater, fashion, and literature. Contact Noel at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Is Your Grocery Bill Breaking the Bank? It’s Not Just Whole Foods appeared first on Law Street.

Having worked in retail, I can tell you that shoplifters are a worker’s worst nightmare. Catching someone in the act can be difficult especially when most stores have policies that prohibit employees from approaching and accusing a suspected thief, out of concern for their employees’ safety. That can lead to lost merchandise and repeat offenders. But, now, a Utah based company has an alternative.

It gives shoplifters a choice–sign an admission of guilt and pay $320 for an online theft education course or the store will call the cops. But is that alternative inherently flawed?

Corrective Education Company (CEC) is a private loss prevention company that was started in 2010 by two Harvard business graduates looking to give shoplifters a second chance instead of a rap sheet. It’s starting to gain popularity with retailers because it doesn’t charge for the service, but instead operates solely on the funds generated from offenders. Retailers can collect a small cut of CEC’s $320 fee for every offender to whom they present the option to sign up for the program. According to CEC’s VP for account management, E.J. Caffaro in Slate Magazine, some big name retailers already using its services including Bloomingdale’s, Burlington Coat Factory, DSW, Whole Foods, and H&M.

What makes this company so concerning is its ability to completely bypass the judicial system for commercial gain. Susannah Karlsson, an attorney with the Brooklyn Defender Services described it perfectly to Slate saying:

There’s no judicial oversight, there are no constitutional protections, there’s no due process. It’s a private company acting as prosecutor, judge, jury, and collector.

Without any judicial oversight or due process, is CEC’s business model actually exploiting people? According to Caffaro, more than 90 percent of people who have been offered the course during CEC’s four years in business have elected to take it. That adds up to approximately 20,000 people, and I can see why. For someone who shoplifted and was caught, this program may be their best option: no jail time, no record, and maybe even a deterrent from future offenses.

What about the accused shoplifters who are innocent? When faced with the threatening possibility of dealing with the police, someone could easily be coerced out of fear into agreeing to this program despite being innocent. If that type of coercion is possible, then CEC could essentially go around accusing anyone it feels like of shoplifting, because the more people it accuses the greater the likelihood of people willing to fork over cash to avoid handcuffs. What’s even more concerning is CEC’s assumptions about the types of people entering its program. Caffaro told Slate:

These people that are getting apprehended typically haven’t been taught the life principles of how to build a resume, how to be presentable in an interview. They haven’t been given the skills to understand what a budget is, never mind how to manage their money. So as they’re going through the course, they build their own resume, they build their own budget, a work-out plan, an eating plan.

But the stores apprehending these people included Bloomingdale’s and DSW, both of which sell higher end products to more affluent customer demographics. To assume that these people can’t make a budget or build a resume is condescending and stereotypical. What exactly a workout and eating plan has to do with shoplifting is beyond me.

Businesses are within their right to settle these  cases sans legal assistance, but for the thousands of people being propositioned should be wary of a potential scam. My advice to anyone one accused of shoplifting by this company is to put away your wallet and call a lawyer.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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