uVictoria’s Secret Plans To End On-Call Schedulingr

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  (Adam Fagen)

  Employees at Victoria’s Secret will no longer have to call in to find out if they’ll be hawking lotions, perfumes, bras, underwear and other products on any given day, as the company plans to end its use of on-call scheduling.

  BuzzFeed News, citing several current and former staff members, reports that the retailer decided to reverse its use of so-called “on-call shifts,” in which employees are given little notice on whether they are required to show up for work or stay at home without pay.

  While on-call scheduling allows retailers to be more flexible with hours and save on payroll expenses by only having workers report for work if the store is busy, the system can make it difficult for employees to predict when they’ll work and their pay.

  In most cases, employees who are scheduled on-call must phone, email or text managers shortly before their shift begins.

  According to the retailer’s staff, in addition to ending on-call scheduling, the company will now notify employees in advance if upcoming shifts may involve “extensions,” in which workers are required to stay past their scheduled end time.

  Employees will also be able to sign up for extra hours if they so desire.

  Representatives for L Brands, the owner of Victoria’s Secret and several other companies, declined to provide comment to BuzzFeed.

  Over the past several years, Victoria’s Secret and other retailers have come under scrutiny for their use of on-call scheduling.

  Back in April, the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent letters warning 13 major retail companies including Target, Sears, Gap, and Victoria’s Secret that some stores may be violating state law by using on-call scheduling systems.

  According to the letter, the practice leaves “too little time to make arrangements for family needs, let alone to find an alternative source of income to compensate for the lost pay.”

  Before that, in 2013, Victoria’s Secret faced a lawsuit over the system in California that claimed employees may be scheduled for more than 30 hours of work across five days in a week, but only actually worked about 10 hours.

  The suit centered around whether or not being available for on-call shifts constituted reporting to work – thereby, requiring compensation even if the shift were canceled.

  According to BuzzFeed, the judge in that case dismissed the call-in reporting time claim.

  Victoria’s Secret Is Getting Rid Of On-Call Scheduling In Stores [BuzzFeed News]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uNow Available At Petco: One Long Tailed Grass Lizard Skeleton For Only $9.99r

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  (imgur)

  Are you in the market for a new pet, one that doesn’t require much maintenance or care? Or perhaps, one that requires absolutely nothing from you? You’re in luck: One Petco appears to have a long tailed grass lizard skeleton available in its store tank, for the low price of just $9.99.

  Consumerist reader Holly pointed us to a recent Reddit post titled, “We clean our cages regularly,” with a link to a series of photos apparently snapped at a Texas Petco.

  If you’re not looking closely enough, you might just think it’s an empty tank, devoid of any pets. That can surely happen when someone buys a pet and the store hasn’t moved a new inmate in yet.

  But further inspection reveals the skeleton of a small lizard, ostensibly the Long Tailed Grass Lizard on the tank’s sign. That same sign includes helpful instructions that might’ve helped the store’s animal handlers, things like feeding the lizard and making sure it has enough water. The sign also promises a pet that is “quick and active,” which we’re sure these lizards are… when they’re alive.

  One commenter who claims to have worked for the company in another location in Texas points out that this particular store has a bad reputation, and that this kind of thing “is NOT standard” for other stores in the area.

  We’ve reached out to Petco corporate to ask how this kind of thing could happen, if it’s investigating this particular incident (as this could all be part of an elaborate hoax), and what company policy is on displaying animals for sale that have clearly been dead long enough to decompose to a skeletal state. We’ll let you know when and if we receive a reply.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Система Рябко Discovery про би (Systema Ryabko), Бойцы ММА в гостях.

uApp Developer Settles Charges It Hijacked Consumers’ Phones To Mine Virtual Currencyr

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  The FTC and New Jersey AG’s office allege that the makers of the Prized app used the program to infect customers’ phones with malware for their own use.

  Some reward programs aren’t really rewarding. In fact, some are downright harmful to consumers. That was apparently the case with an Ohio-based smartphone app developer that recently agreed to settle charges that it hijacked consumers’ phones through a seemingly innocuous gaming app.

  Smartphone app developer Equiliv Investments advertised its Prized app as a way for users to earn points for clothing, gift cards and other prizes by downloading affiliated apps, playing video games embedded with advertisements, or taking online surveys.

  But the Federal Trade Commission and New Jersey Attorney General’s office say the app was actually used as an entryway to mine virtual currency like Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Quarkcoin.

  According to a complaint [PDF] filed by the FTC and AG’s office, Equiliv and director Ryan Ramminger began marketing the Prized app in February 2014 through the Google Play Store, Amazon App Store and other third-party sites.

  The company promised users that the downloaded app would be free from malicious software and viruses.

  However, shortly after users download the app, it took control of the device’s computing resource to mine for virtual currencies.

  The complaint alleges that the app developers then used consumers’ devices to attempt to solve equations that create virtual currencies, thus lining their own virtual wallets.

  As a result of this mining, the infected devices quickly burnt through their monthly data plans, lost battery power rapidly and recharged more slowly.

  “Consumers downloaded this app thinking that at the very worst it would not be as useful or entertaining as advertised,” said Acting New Jersey Attorney General John J. Hoffman. “Instead, the app allegedly turned out to be a Trojan horse for intrusive, invasive malware that was potentially damaging to expensive smartphones and other mobile devices.”

  In all, the complaint alleges that Equiliv and Ramminger violated the FTC Act and the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.

  To resolve the allegations, the company has agreed to a proposed settlement banning it from creating and distributing malicious software.

  Additionally, the company is required to pay a suspended monetary judgement of $50,000 to the state of New Jersey.

  The case is part of the FTC’s ongoing work to protect consumers taking advantage of new and emerging financial technology, also known as FinTech. As technological advances expand the ways consumers can store, share, and spend money, the FTC is working to keep consumers protected while encouraging innovation for consumers’ benefit.

  App Developer Settles FTC and New Jersey Charges It Hijacked Consumers’ Phones to Mine Cryptocurrency [Federal Trade Commission]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uWhere In The World Can You Find The Cheapest Beer?r

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  (pwrplantgirl)

  If you’re the kind of person who needs to know everything about a city before you visit, your list of requirements might include pinning down where you can get a cheap beer. So before you hit the road or book that flight, you might want to check out a recent list of which cities around the globe have the priciest pours.

  A company called GoEuro collected data on the price of beer at both supermarkets as well as bars in cities and then took that average to create the Beer Price Index. The results may factor in when you’re planning a trip, depending on how much you can handle paying for a beer.

  Traveling to Switzerland? Better save your change for a cold one: Geneva’s beers will hit your pockets the hardest, according to a beer price index compiled by GoEuro: The average price of a brew there is $6.32 ($1.87 in stores and $10.77 at bars).

  On the cheap end of things, Krakow, Poland and Kiev, Ukraine were tied for the least expensive beers, with an average price of $1.66 each.

  In the United States, New Yorkers won’t be surprised to find their favorite beverage comes at a higher average price ($5.20) than its fellow notoriously expensive city on the West Coast, San Francisco ($3.97).

  The Wall Street Journal took GoEuro’s data and turned it into a searchable database, for those who don’t feel like scanning the entire list.

  And you should always remember, temperature is also key when choosing your brew. So sayeth Strong Bad:

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uFiat Chrysler Recalls 7,000 SUVs, Tells Customers To Immediately Stop Driving Themr

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  (bluwmongoose)

  About 65 Jeep and Dodge SUV owners can expect to receive a phone call from Fiat Chrysler telling them to stop driving their vehicles.

  The car maker announced over the weekend that it will recall about 7,690 model year 2015 Dodge Durangos and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles that have a suspension component that could fail.

  While a majority of the affected SUVs have not been sold, the automaker has taken an unusual step for those that are currently in the possession of consumers by urging them to immediately stop driving the vehicles, according to the Detroit Free Press.

  While more than 7,000 SUVs remain on dealer lots or in transit to dealers, Fiat Chrysler plans to personally call the owners of the 65 vehicles currently on the road.

  The company says that some of the suspension components installed in the cars were not correctly treated by a supplier for high temperatures. Because of this, the component could break leading to rear-end instability and/or reduced braking power.

  The suspension issue was discovered by the supplier during an internal quality review. Fiat Chrysler then investigated the issue and halted vehicle shipments from its assembly plant.

  Fiat Chrysler says it is unaware of any accidents or injuries related to the issue.

  Affected vehicles will be inspected and if they contain the compromised parts, they will be shipped to a dealership for repairs.

   

   

  FCA makes unusual move amid SUV recall [The Detroit Free Press]
  Statement: Suspension-component Inspection/Replacement [Fiat Chrysler]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uGoogle Adding Railroad Crossings To Maps In Attempt To Curb Accidentsr

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  (frankieleon)

  Due to an uptick recently in accidents at railroad crossings, the Federal Railroad Administration is stepping up efforts to keep drivers aware when their route intersects with the path of trains. The agency just announced a new partnership with Google Maps, that will provide the locations of all grade crossings in the country.

  Accidents at rail crossings spiked by 9% last year, reports the New York Times, resulting in 270 deaths and 843 injured people.

  Those numbers have prompted the government to work with Google: The technology company has agreed to include information from the United States Department of Transportation’s database to nail down every rail crossing in the country, and will also add audio and visual alerts to the app for drivers using the turn-by-turn navigation feature.

  Google likely won’t be the only company that adds railroad crossing information to its maps — the agency says it also reached out to Apple, MapQuest, TomTom and Garmin.

  Though many crossings have flashing, blinking lights and gates that come down to keep inattentive drivers alert, there are others that only have a crossing sign or a crossbuck, which is a white “X” marked with the words “railroad crossing” on the road.

  It’s unclear exactly why such accidents rose last year, but it could be partly to due a growing economy and increased freight train traffic. Or maybe people are just distracted behind the wheel.

  “The vast majority of these accidents and deaths are preventable,” Sarah Feinberg, the Federal Railroad Administration’s acting administrator told the NYT. “In some cases, maybe a driver intends to beat the train, thinks they are familiar with the route or still have time to cross. But there are many cases where drivers lack situational awareness, because it may be dark or the route is unfamiliar.”

  There’s no date set yet for when crossing information will be included on Google Maps, but DOT officials said the company has made this project a priority.

  “We’re happy to help the Federal Railroad Administration as we’re always looking for new ways to make maps useful to our users,” a Google spokeswoman told the NYT.

  The DOT does have its own app that provides a catalog of all crossing locations, called the Rail Crossing Location Mobile Application. But it doesn’t alert drivers when they’re about to cross tracks, and isn’t used much. Still, if that’s something you’re worried about, it could be useful when plotting your next trip.

  Agency Taps Mapping Technology to Curb Rail Crossing Accidents [New York Times]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist