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  • FedEx May Be Sued for Labor Violations by Three States

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    I think of FedEx as an employee-friendly company. For example, the entire company closes on Christmas to ensure that all employees can enjoy the holiday. Thus, it was surprising to learn that FedEx may be sued by the three states of New York, Montanta and New Jersey for intentionally denying 1,000 contractors the benefits they should receive as full employees. I guess they only commit (alleged) labor violations against non-employees.

    Reuters reports: “Three U.S. states said on Tuesday they plan to sue FedEx Corp, accusing the second-largest U.S. package delivery company of violating labor laws by illegally classifying drivers as independent contractors rather than employees to save money.”

    Now to be fair, FedEx claims their contractors operate more like the owners of a franchise, who use the FedEx brand, but in essence operate their own small businesses, so there are no labor violations. In fact, FedEx released a statement promising to “vigorously defend the right of FedEx Ground independent contractors to own and operate their businesses.” So why may FedEx being getting sued? By not one but THREE states?

    FedEx does not give contractors benefits like worker’s compensation protection, but still charges them high fees to use its equipment. This would be fine, except that the company strictly manages drivers with detailed rules regarding hours and uniforms, among other areas. Honestly, something in the milk ain’t clean. It’s clear that FedEx is in fact controlling these drivers like full-time employees, while making them take on the risk and expenses of an owner. I hope FedEx goes down on this one.

    The three states of New York, Montanta and New Jersey have given FedEx until October 27 to prove that these allegations are false. Then the law suit against FedEx will proceed, hopefully empowering these workers to receive fair compensation for their labor.

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    Gotcha Moments of Retail Shame
    Store: Midas
    Accusation:California filed a $222 million lawsuit against the owner of 22 Midas Muffler shops after uncover agents discovered in which consumers were charged for unneeded repairs, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced. Click through to see more stores that got caught cheating.
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    Gotcha Moments of Retail Shame

      Store: Midas
      Accusation:California filed a $222 million lawsuit against the owner of 22 Midas Muffler shops after uncover agents discovered in which consumers were charged for unneeded repairs, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced. Click through to see more stores that got caught cheating.

      Store: CVS
      Accusation:California caught the chain with expired merchandise on the shelf. The result? CVS must give $2 coupons to anyone finding more expired items. This isn’t the first store caught doing something shady (or even the first time CVS was caught doing the same thing). See more Gotcha Moments by clicking through.

      Store: Kmart
      Accusation:Marketed paper products as biodegradable that aren’t actually biodegradable. The result? Kmart settled the case with the Federal Trade commission. This isn’t the first time KMart was caught.

      AFP/Getty Images

      KMart’s Previous Gotcha:Kmart, Ashley, and World Market< were accused of deceptive furniture labeling — wood that wasn”t wood and leather that wasn”t leather — in an on-camera investigation by Good Morning America The result? Kmart said full product descriptions were available online, Ashley defended its wording as a description of color only, and World Market acknowledged that a quarter of its supposedly leather chairs were actually synthetic, and it pulled them from sale.

      Sears Holdings Management Corp., the parent company of Sears and Kmart, settled a case to stop enticing customers to sign up for a software that spies on them. It must also instruct customers how to uninstall the software that monitored their spending across the web, even on sites that are supposed to be secure, and destroy the data that was collected. The Federal Trade Commission brought the case against the Sears Holdings.

      Quizno’s Sub Shop has an online video ad showing two girls simulating a porn video by sharing a sub sandwich. The online ad, “2 Girls, 1 Sub,” takes its name from a notoriously heinous movie trailer, for a fetish film, which shows women eating their own feces. Critics have pointed out that the Quiznos video, starring Playboy Playmate Hiromi Oshima, is basically comparing the sandwiches to “poop.”
      This is Quizno’s second porn-themed ad to come out in recent months.

      If you are dining out — and many of us still are these days, despite the economy — make sure to check your bill carefully for extra charges that might creep on there.
      Call it the airline a la carte approach, as many restaurants are apparently sneaking in charges for bread, tap water, takeout boxes and mandatory tips. The New York Post found all of these items added to bills on an investigative mission that the paper undertook recently.

      For more on advertisers caught misleading consumers, click through our gallery of Gotcha Moments of Retail Shame.

      Blockbuster was found guilty of charging customers higher than the advertised prices on scanned items by district attorneys of Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Blockbuster owes $237,750 in penalties, and $62,250 in costs, and is further prohibited from charging amounts greater than the advertised price.

      A regulatory organization for the advertising industry demanded that Wrigley change its misleading packaging and advertising for Eclipse gum. The ads for Eclipse say that the gum’s natural ingredient – magnolia bark extract – kills germs that cause bad breath. This has not been proven and the National Advertising Division Council of Better Business Bureaus asks that Wrigley clarify this in its ads.

      Store:Chase Bank

      Accusation: In late March, the bank rescinded a $10 monthly fee it had imposed for several months on hundreds of thousands of credit card accounts, after New York’s attorney general decried the practice as a bait-and-switch for customers seeking low interest rates.

      Results:The settlement could save customers $22 million over the next year.

      Amy Sancetta, AP

     

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  • Chris Brown: Media Maneuvering Gone Wild

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    Usually when celebrities go through the motions of trying to revive their wounded images, a great public relations strategy – them telling their story – goes into play.

    But for Chris Brown, it seems to have gone off the deep end.

    Major mainstream media opportunities with ‘Larry King Live’ and People magazine seem to have garnered less-than-desirable results.

    Chris Brown Pictures

      LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 25: Entertainer Chris Brown (R) surrounded by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s depuites leaves his sentencing at Los Angeles Criminal Courts on August 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Brown’s probation was 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor, as the result of a plea deal, after he was charged with two felonies for assault on then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, during an argument that occurred on February 8, 2009. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

      Getty Images

      LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 25: Entertainer Chris Brown (R) surrounded by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s depuites leaves his sentencing at Los Angeles Criminal Courts on August 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Brown’s probation was 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor, as the result of a plea deal, after he was charged with two felonies for assault on then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, during an argument that occurred on February 8, 2009. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

      Getty Images

      LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 25: Entertainer Chris Brown surrounded by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s depuites leaves his sentencing at Los Angeles Criminal Courts on August 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Brown’s probation was 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor, as the result of a plea deal, after he was charged with two felonies for assault on then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, during an argument that occurred on February 8, 2009. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

      Getty Images

      LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 25: Entertainer Chris Brown surrounded by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s depuites leaves his sentencing at Los Angeles Criminal Courts on August 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Brown’s probation was 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor, as the result of a plea deal, after he was charged with two felonies for assault on then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, during an argument that occurred on February 8, 2009. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

      Getty Images

      LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 25: Entertainer Chris Brown (C) surrounded by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s depuites leaves his sentencing at Los Angeles Criminal Courts on August 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Brown’s probation was 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor, as the result of a plea deal, after he was charged with two felonies for assault on then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, during an argument that occurred on February 8, 2009. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

      Getty Images

      LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 25: Media attend a press conference after Chris Brown leaves his sentencing at Los Angeles Criminal Courts on August 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Brown’s probation was 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor, as the result of a plea deal, after he was charged with two felonies for assault on then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, during an argument that occurred on February 8, 2009. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

      Getty Images

      LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 25: Entertainer Chris Brown leaves his sentencing at Los Angeles Criminal Courts on August 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Brown’s probation was 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor, as the result of a plea deal, after he was charged with two felonies for assault on then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, during an argument that occurred on February 8, 2009. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

      Getty Images

      LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 25: Entertainer Chris Brown (C) surrounded by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s depuites leaves his sentencing at Los Angeles Criminal Courts on August 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Brown’s probation was 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor, as the result of a plea deal, after he was charged with two felonies for assault on then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, during an argument that occurred on February 8, 2009. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

      Getty Images

      LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 25: Entertainer Chris Brown surrounded by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s depuites leaves his sentencing at Los Angeles Criminal Courts on August 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Brown’s probation was 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor, as the result of a plea deal, after he was charged with two felonies for assault on then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, during an argument that occurred on February 8, 2009. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

      Getty Images

      LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 25: Entertainer Chris Brown (R) surrounded by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s depuites leaves his sentencing at Los Angeles Criminal Courts on August 25, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Brown’s probation was 5 years probation and 180 days of community labor, as the result of a plea deal, after he was charged with two felonies for assault on then girlfriend, singer Rihanna, during an argument that occurred on February 8, 2009. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

      Getty Images

    On a pre-taped interview for the long-running CNN talk show, the Jive Records singer didn’t say much about anything as he sat there with the support of his mother, Joyce Hawkins, and high-powered attorney Mark Geragos (who admitted on air that he had no idea who the singer was before he savagely beat his girlfriend, pop star Rihanna).

    And then, in the new edition of People magazine, Brown, 20, does his first print interview – and in it, he’s talking about how Oprah Winfrey dealt with the widely reported Feb. 8 altercation on her show.

    “I commend Oprah on being like, ‘This is a problem,’ but it was a slap in my face,” Brown told the magazine. “I did a lot of stuff for her, like going to Africa and performing for her school. She could have been more helpful, like, ‘Okay, I’m going to help both of these people out.’”

    When contacted by TMZ.com, Winfrey’s camp issued the following response:

    “Oprah is very appreciative that Chris Brown performed at her school, but she takes domestic abuse very seriously. She hopes he gets the counseling he needs.”

    Chris Brown

     

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  • Hard hit leaves Brady’s shoulder sore (AP)

    Washington Redskins wide receiver Marko Mitchell(notes) catches a touchdown pass in front of New England Patriots cornerback Jamar Love, left, during the second half of a preseason NFL football game, Friday, Aug. 28, 2009, in Landover, Md.

    Officially, Tom Brady has a "sore shoulder," the result of being crushed to the turf by massive Albert Haynesworth. It caused enough discomfort for him to spend quite a while on the bench flexing and rotating his throwing arm, trying to work out whatever kinks where there. It could be nothing.