Thread regarding The Hudson's Bay Company layoffs

Insult to injury- those of us who chose cobra had a big surprise. With no prior warning and April premium paid lord and Taylor gave notice to health insurance company on 4/2 that they were canceling all plans- with no notice despite paying no cover for April and can’t get it till May. Anyone else in this position it’s illegal we are entitled to 30 day notice

To LeTote it’s interesting how just prior to signing liquidation agreement your top people get big bucks, while you have no regard for the Associates, while store management still has her health insurance all the rest of us don’t. One of my coworkers is losing everything because of a health emergency that occurred June 10. These are real people you greedy Swines. You took away opportunities for so many while you sit in your California mansions. You lied on court filings there was no inventory-
Why not send your family to come close the stores, would you put them in that position gee why not

Don’t post identifiable info, that’s not allowed here, mods will nuke your post.

Not sure why anyone went back to stores that used cheap garage bags as barrier. Is your health worth the 16.50. All would have received better safety condition if we stuck together,
Ridgewood had systemic bulling and Pam and so called supervisor David did nothing to stop it, made it worse by telling others who had made complaints.
Thank you for your poor leadership, when a supervisor speaks negatively, nothing job related about employees to other employees shows you aren’t qualified for the position, why would a supervisor say they hope they get left go?
Well not you got what you wanted, to be fired, when store closes. Enjoy your extremely long lunch and then complain about others, behind their back. I hope you learn to stop gossiping as it isn’t a positive quality for anyone. You are a man not a child grow up and learn the golden rule, also learn by telling people what was happening in private management meetings you betrayed your employer.

Not really sure why the Ridgewood staff has Not contacted anyone about the health violations 🤷🏻‍♀️ Everyone complains on line and to each other but still nothing has changed ... Workjng in a building for months and months w/ No air conditioning or air circulation for that matter is disgusting! There is No hand sanitizer coming in for employees And forget the dirty plastic bags hanging in front of the register 😂😂😂 complete waste of time for whoever had to hang that up! Good luck guys hope you get to close sooner than later and get the heck out of there

Department of Labor Logo OSHA National News Release

21. S. Department of Labor

April 8, 2020

21. S. Department of Labor Issues Alert to Keep Retail Workers

Safe During Coronavirus Pandemic

WASHINGTON, DC –The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an alert listing safety tips employers can follow to help protect retail workers from exposure to coronavirus.

Safety measures employers can implement to protect employees working in pharmacies, supermarkets, big box stores and other retail establishments include:

Routinely cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and equipment with Environmental Protection Agency-approved cleaning chemicals from List N or that have label claims against the coronavirus;

Using a drive-through window or offering curbside pick-up;

Recommending that workers wear masks over their nose and mouth to prevent them from spreading the virus; and

Practicing sensible social distancing, which could include opening only every other cash register, temporarily moving workstations to create more distance and installing plexiglass partitions between workstations.————- above is OSHA Standard

We k ow you are going out of business but change the bag barriers daily as there is no way to clean them, hang bags between registers, PROVIDE FACE MASkS, empty hand sanitizer at clock in area, shall I go on. Supervisor wear masks, get over yourself you only a supervisor.

It would be nice if they did find a buyer, but I don’t think it will happen. I think other businesses, not just retail, are cash strapped and can’t even think about expanding their brand to purchase LT. They’re busy trying to stay afloat themselves.

Is there any rumors or thought out there that a possible buyer can still be found? I know closing sales bring in a lot of cash, and I find it interesting just a few days after adding a handful more stores to the closing list the company through in the towel on the entire business.

Yes the loss of benefits is wrong. I will say my retailer put up plexi guards and I don’t think they do much as customers stand and do what they want. This pandemic truly has k–led most retail except Amazon, Target & Wal Mart. If we all want more choices beyond these 3 we need to support our brick & mortar stores we love now more then ever!

So sad Ridgewood opened to the public w/ NO air conditioning.. Stopped in and couldn’t stay for 15 min so hot and disgusting in there!!! Completely un safe for the workers !

Thank you for your support. Most of us have been here for years so the pay is a cut. Can take pay cut but can’t take the no benefits. Our health coverage has been terminated. Also, we don’t have proper protection from customers and each other.

As an outsider at another retailer reading this all is very sad (though making $15-18 is actually pretty good compared to many other retailers that are not in bankruptcy). I truly hope someone comes in and buys your company. I’ve always enjoyed shopping at L&T. Those of you working keep your heads up and know customers appreciate you all. Best of luck in this extremely difficult time. Still supporting you on line & in store!!

As an outsider at another retailer reading this all is very sad (though making $15-18 is actually pretty good compared to many other retailers that are not in bankruptcy). I truly hope someone comes in and buys your company. I’ve always enjoyed shopping at L&T. Those of you working keep your heads up and know customers appreciate you all. Best of luck in this extremely difficult time. Still supporting you on line & in store!!

Not going in until micro union recognized, if ever. You can’t pay for medical for some and not all!! Need safe work environment! Old plastic bag get out of here. Nothing between employees
We get you don’t care. Ty Westfield, hello Ridgewood Good luck

Black jumper silver belt and blue floral mask.
I am asking for plexiglass, health insurance or money to pay for it and wipes. I have 2 in my store who are with me. We will not come in Tuesday if they say no. Ridgewood come on down

I agree with below post. We need to stick together. We need a way to communicate off a public website. Any ideas? Maybe store and floor so within a store we can communicate and then figure a way to communicate between stores. I am not comfortable. It’s obvious liquidation company in charge. They don’t care about us! The more we get paid the less they get! Look at the documents in court filing. The dates on some are early April. So why did they not tell us at that time we can’t pay for May, instead of less than 48 hours notice to find a plan. That is a violation of law but they don’t care as they are out of business. I don’t like what I have seen in terms of safety. Employee can’t be fired to try to make union even if union is short lived.
If a majority walk out on Monday, and those being called back don’t answer to come back it’s a start.
Please have the courage to stick up for your self, your health and your life.
Garden State the big one. Some one from Ridgewood come down on Monday. I will post what I have on Monday am.

To my old co workers at Ridgewood
I guess this is the last time LT will hurt the people who have worked, for some decades, and gave this store life. We didn’t fail MANAGEMENT DID! Here is some advice they need you to close store down, they will never be Abel to hire a closing team for what they are offering. Band together even if you don’t like one another!! Demand plexiglass, Demand health insurance. There is no buyer don’t put you and your family at risk for 15-18 per hour. Make an informal union and demand your health. Who will pay if you get sick at work. You will physically and $$$.
If you don’t go back they can’t take away unemployment, they may threaten to report you, but it won’t work. They are desperate for people to close store.
You are a smart group come together and act like it

According to COVID-19.NJ.GOV, these are the requirements that must be followed by retail businesses in New Jersey. Violations can be reported through the website. The below does say masks and hand sanitizer must be supplied to workers:

Requirements For Retail Businesses

Immediately separate and send home workers who appear to have COVID-19 symptoms;
Promptly notify workers of any known exposure to COVID-19, subject to confidentiality requirements in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA);
Clean and disinfect the worksite in accordance withCDC guidelines when a worker has been diagnosed with COVID-19;
Continue to follow all guidelines and directives issued by the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH), the CDC, and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) for maintaining a clean, safe and healthy work environment.
Businesses must provide face coverings to all employees, and employees are required to wear face coverings while on the premises.
Businesses may adopt policies that require staff to wear gloves, in addition to regular hand hygiene. Where a business requires its staff to wear gloves while at the worksite, the business must provide such gloves to staff.
Limit occupancy to 50% of maximum store capacity at one time;
Establish hours of operation specifically for the exclusive use of high-risk individuals;
Install a physical barrier, such as a shield guard, between customers and cashiers/baggers where possible and anywhere you cannot maintain 6 feet of distance;
Require regular hand washing, coughing and sneezing etiquette, and proper tissue usage and disposal;
Provide employees break time for regular hand washing;
Arrange for contactless pay options, pickup, or delivery of goods wherever possible;
Provide hand sanitizer and wipes to staff and customers;
Frequently sanitize high-touch areas like restrooms, credit card machines, keypads, counters and shopping carts;
Require infection control practices such as regular hand washing, coughing and sneezing etiquette, and proper tissue usage;
Place conspicuous signage at entrances and throughout the store alerting staff and customers to the required 6 feet of distance;
Demarcate 6 feet of spacing in check-out lines to demonstrate appropriate social distancing;
Require workers and customers to wear cloth face coverings. A business must provide, at its own expense, these face coverings for employees. Customers may be exempted if it would inhibit their health, or if under two years of age. If a customer refuses, they must be denied entry, unless the business is providing medication, medical supplies, or food, in which case another method of pickup should be provided.
For a full list of mitigation requirements, refer to section 1 on page 5 of Executive Order No. 122 and paragraph 6 on page 8 Executive Order No. 181.

For Gods sakes people don’t go back to Ridgewood to close it down. You Can stay on unemployment.. they are not offering the same job.,.. How the people who have been working in there while the air conditioning has been broken not quite sure 🤔 They don’t even make the bare bones of safety standards I would have reported them a long time ago to the state

Save your self call local health dept for each store and let them know what’s going on in your store. Then maybe ones who want to stay will have some protection-we owe that to former teammates. Compare 711 to lord and Taylor. 711 has plexiglass, which isn’t expensive compared to risk.
Plexiglass, gloves, wipes

I went back to a store that was slated to stay open. I was thinking that if there was a buyer I would be able to keep my job and get health back.
It’s true about no plexiglass, bags from receiving, I haven’t seen them be changed or cleaned. Supplies to wipe counter nonexistent.
We at my store were told formally last night that all stores will now be liquidated. There is no buyer! I purchased kn95 masks to wear.
All in my store were told one thing and it turns out to be a lie. The liquidation partner wants everything done by end of Nov.
I don’t think I will be going back. My GM isn’t on floor, she’s in office or at other stores. Management aren’t taking the risks associates and supervisors are.
I don’t know for sure about this but I was told by a lawyer that most staying bonus will be is 5-10 percent of what you make from day of liquidation till close. Also, will be no severance due to bankruptcy. After 23 years I will take advice and go to grocery store, where there is health insurance and plexiglass and supplies to wipe area down. Got message loud and clear LT- good luck getting fools to work when you don’t provide basic things

Ok so everyone understands they are not offering us health insurance when you get called back, the job they are offering is not substantially similar to one you had prior with insurance. So they can’t take unemployment away. Who in right mind Is going to go back to close store up and clean it up, with no protection. There is no plexiglass to protect us. They are using Receiving clear trash bag, that’s how much they care about our health.
The bonuses they speak about are nothing, will not cover insurance for a week.
So no plexiglass, no health insurance and retail is classified as high risk with plexiglass.
I will happily take them on, on this. Don’t let them scare you. Report each store for lack of protection, stores in NY and NJ don’t meet minimum safety standards. Who will pay your medical bills if God forbid you get COVID?
LeTote you have screwed me for the last time. Good luck getting employees back with no health and no protection. After no communication for months now you want me, sorry but I am not risking my health when you cheap people can’t provide minimum plexiglass. By the way it’s not that expensive.
Also, funny how for some it’s a pay cut and others it’s a raise- should have been paying people equally. Grocery store paying the same. With benefits

Now is Richard Baker’s big chance to rent out real estate to Amazon since they are looking to set up distribution centers in malls, and Hudson’s Bay owns all those leases and some actual stores outright, including the Ridgewood property.

He has a real talent for driving stores to bankruptcy for their real estate. Saks Fifth Avenue is next.

That’s a wrap .. finally announced today in stores that all stores will be closed by November...

Hudson Bay should be investigated by the Canadian Stock Exchange. When they were a public company, they sold Lord & Taylor but kept all leases and property. They had a vested interest in seeing the failure of Lord & Taylor so they could lease or sell these properties all the while acting as a good faith agent/double agent on Le Tote’s board.

I don’t think it was possible for most people to find a job when the whole state and businesses were shut down as a result of the pandemic. Even now finding work is not an easy thing to do. Anyway it’s up to people decide what to do for themselves.

All stores will go into liquidation mid October... There is NO buyer for this company... Mid October their time is up according to their bankruptcy hearing ... Everyone should have been looking for a job this whole time ... The signature of American style has met its fate

I wish we could do something to ensure the best outcome and find a buyer.

I feel as if this bankruptcy was a long time coming and people have just been resigned to it for so long, even before Le Tote.

I think LT spent money on things they shouldn’t have...

We got paycheck cards some months back, and we were getting paid just fine without them. Plus, it wasn’t even mandatory to use these paycheck cards.

What about the Dayforce program that got rolled out earlier this year? Maybe that was necessary because maybe that was Hudson Bay software or something. Moving and rewiring the registers at 38 stores to less convenient areas of the store to accommodate online returns?

Some people are reporting some stores will be sold. That’s not correct, I think. I take it to mean the sale of the Lord and Taylor business is what Le Tote owns—the inventory of goods, the online business, and intellectual property, such as the Lord and Taylor logo. It does not include store leases or property. All leases or property are held by Hudson Bay.

This morning, August 4, we received a letter from HR regarding the bankruptcy filing. The letter said the filing is part of a marketing ploy to maximize the value of unsold assets. Uhh...okay. Sure.

Le Tote had no business purchasing LT. By not calling back full time employees they saved money on not having to pay health insurance for full timers. Part timers who answered the call, none of you got your health from LT. There are several long serving full timers who are now without health insurance. Each full timer effected should call your state labor board as this seems like it could be discriminatory, at least in NY. Those who get a call to help close a store, no benefits included, don’t think for a second you will get priority at another store.
Sure I will work in the middle of covid being exposed with no health insurance- not.
LeTote were is the pay for 2020 summer and winter 2021 vacations, we earned that time prior to the shutdown.
Spend your gift cards

It’s reported that Lord & Taylor filed for bankruptcy. The article I read said the chain would sell off some of its stores if they can. That makes little sense as Hudson Bay holds all the leases or in some cases owns the real estate. They can’t sell it if they don’t own it...

I think Lord & Taylor deserved a lot better than these accidental CEOs and a director of stores that came from the outlet arm of a department store. Completely incompetent.

I don’t understand how they even decided which part-timers to call back. As a part-timer, I worked every holiday I was asked to work to be a team player. I opened charge cards. Some people who got called back flat out refused to work any holidays making it unfair to people in their department. They refused to even try to open charge cards to help the store make money.

Yikes!! As I read this my head spins. I just want to go back to work. I really like my job. I hope to go back soon.

New Low For LeTote
I 100 percent agree with the below post. What is the criteria being used to call workers back. It would be nice to know. Most companies have a published policy. So what is it and how do we learn of it? Oh and as of Aug 3 all furloughed associations will no longer get the employee discount. How pathetic. Small stores are still providing health insurance. I wish I could turn back time. I would have beeN much better off at any other store than this sorry excuse of a chain.
How about all furlough start a Facebook page so we can communicate between stores. LeTote May need to be on the receiving end of a class action prior to bankruptcy for unpaid work time, no communication and arbitrary policy.

Ok I guess there is truth to Aug comment. LeTote you owe your full timers more than what you are doing!! In February, after the great layoff those of us who were still with you had to pick up the slack. On many days this meant no lunch, despite having hour taken away. The lack of communication is pathetically sad. What is the criteria to call people back? Hmm cheapest? Remember you get what you pay for.

Agree with the Statement about Part Timers- surprised but I guess everyone has own self interest.

This thred is still alive ..lol People move on The stores will liquidate January/ February... the end .... Fact

To the part timers you don’t get your health benefits from LT. They are calling you in for that reason. Your full time coworkers need insurance back.