As if e-commerce wasn’t enough of a headache, brick-and-mortar retailers in California now face another serious challenge. There, a pair of appellate court decisions has cleared the way for workers to sue stores that don’t provide “suitable seating” during downtime.
According to an AP report, more than 100 suits may have already been filed against retailers that fail to make adequate seating available for sales associates, cashiers and other staffers who must spend long hours standing. Merchants including GameStop and The Home Depot now face millions of dollars in damages, with first violations running as high as $100 per employee per pay period, and doubling thereafter.
But there may be a silver lining for brick-and-mortar showrooms in the Golden State: California’s legislature has passed a bill that would force out-of-state e-tailers to collect taxes on their online sales. The measure, which has yet to be sent to Governor Jerry Brown, could add $200 million or more to state coffers annually, AP said, including $83 million from Amazon.com alone.
