uOSHA: Ashley Furniture Failed To Report Incident In Which A Worker Lost His Fingerr

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  (B-More Retail)

  Going to work and doing your job shouldn’t mean worrying about bodily harm, which is why there are rules and regulations in place to ensure that employers take all the right steps to keep workers safe. The federal government says Ashley Furniture fell afoul of those rules when it failed to report an incident in which a worker lost a finger.

  The company is already facing almost $1.8 million in fines for 38 other workplace safety violations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration since January, reports the La Crosse Tribune. The agency found that workers at the Arcadia, WI plant had experienced more than 1,000 work-related injuries in the last 3.5 years.

  Added to the list now, OSHA accused Ashley Furniture of failing to report that a worker had his right ring finger cut off by moving machine parts in March, as the company is required to do.

  An OSHA inspection left Ashley with two willful violations for failing to protect workers from machinery operating parts and neglecting to report a hospitalization within 24 hours, along with two less-serious safety violations for not keeping accurate injury records. Since Ashley was placed in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program earlier this year, the company is facing proposed penalties of $83,200 for the incident.

  Because another employee had a similar injury on the same type of machinery in January, the March incident has been classified as a willful violation.

  “Workers at Ashley Furniture cannot count on their company to do what’s right when it comes to safety,” said Mark Hysell, OSHA’s area director in Eau Claire, WI. “These workers are at risk because this company is intentionally and willfully disregarding OSHA standards and requirements.”

  But Ashley denies the allegations, saying in a statement:

  “Despite our best efforts, we continue to disagree with the agency’s conclusions and the inspectors’ interpretations of various regulations,” the statement read. “The agency’s document uses terms like ‘serious,’ ‘repeat’ and ‘willful’ — which are definitions in their regulations. We do not believe such regulatory terminology reflects Ashley’s proven commitment to safety.”

  The company goes on to say that it’s disappointed that it hasn’t been able to resolves its “differences with the agency,” but is confident in its safety programs and procedures.

  “We look forward to the opportunity to present our evidence to OSHA’s allegations in the proper legal setting,” the company statement reads.

  From here, Ashley has 15 business days from when it received the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

  Ashley furniture cited for not reporting incident, failing to protect workers [La Crosse Tribune]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uCustomers File Class Action Over Allegedly Misleading TJ Maxx Price Tagsr

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  (Mike Mozart)

  Consumerist readers as well as dedicated outlet and closeout shoppers know that the “compare at” or “manufacturer’s suggested retail price” tags at outlet stores don’t necessarily mean anything. Two occasional TJ Maxx shoppers have now proposed a federal class action lawsuit against the company for false advertising, claiming that the company engages in “deceptive pricing.”

  It’s not that the shirt you’re buying isn’t necessarily worth the $20 that you paid. The problem, the two plaintiffs claim, is that the “compare at” prices you see on TJ Maxx price tags are just made up. Your shirt might be worth $20, but you might have purchased it based on the assumption that a similar shirt elsewhere would be worth $39.95, since that was the “compare at” price on the tag.

  This is called price anchoring: instead of starting out with the idea that the shirt is worth $20, the deal looks even better since your first impression of the shirt is that it’s “worth” $40. The plaintiffs in this suit find that practice unfair. In their initial complaint, their attorneys explain:

  The comparative price assures consumers like Plaintiffs that they are receiving an exceptionally good deal and saving a specific dollar amount equal to the difference between the two prices. Defendants’ price tags deceptively instruct customers to “compare” the sale prices of their products to these higher comparative prices. The comparative prices, however, are false. They are not true, bona fide comparative prices.

  How did they learn that TJ Maxx is pretty much pulling these figures out of the air? Well, the retailer’s own website says so.

  The “compare at” price is our buying staff’s estimate of the regular, retail price at which a comparable item in finer catalogs, specialty or department stores may have been sold. We buy products from thousands of vendors worldwide, so the item may not be offered by other retailers at the “compare at” price at any particular time or location. We encourage you to do your own comparison shopping as another way to see what great value we offer. We stand for bringing you and your family exceptional value every day – it’s the foundation of our business.

  T.J. Maxx Sued Over Misleading Price Tags [Racked]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uMcDonald’s All-Day Breakfast Could Go Nationwide By Octoberr

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  (Morton Fox)

  McMuffins, Sausage Burritos, Hash Browns and Hotcakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner? That could be the new reality at McDonald’s restaurants around the country as soon as this fall.

  That is, according to a memo recently sent to franchisees and employees of the fast good giant, the Wall Street Journal reports.

  As we’re well aware of by now, McDonald’s began testing a (limited) all-day breakfast menu in several markets – starting in San Diego and recently expanding to Mississippi and Tennessee – earlier this year, and it appears those trial runs are going well.

  The company memo, sent from an Arizona franchisee heading the task force for all-day breakfast, notifies franchisees to be ready for the possible launch of all-day breakfast as early as October.

  McDonald’s did not immediately respond to the WSJ’s request for comment on the memo or the potential nationwide launch of the all-day breakfast menu.

  But before consumers’ dreams of a nationwide all-day breakfast bonanza can come true, franchisee committees must approve the move.

  According to the WSJ, restaurant operators must place equipment orders by mid-August and decide whether or not they want menu boards to feature the breakfast items.

  “We want to make it clear that we are not being presumptive that this will launch, but we want to make sure the system is ready to turn quickly and launch all day breakfast should all of you believe and support that direction,” the memo stated.

  Votes from franchisee leadership groups are expected to be held – at least initially – on August 14.

  The Golden Arches began testing a limited all-day breakfast menu – featuring McMuffins (Egg, Sausage, Sausage with Egg), the Sausage Burrito, Hash Browns, Hotcakes, Hotcakes and Sausage, Fruit & Maple Oatmeal and Fruit ‘N Yogurt Parfait – in March, after years of customers expressing their desire for the meals.

  McDonald’s Could Offer All-Day Breakfast Nationwide in October [The Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uJet.com Opens To The Public Today, Discounts More If You Buy More Stuff And Waive Returnsr

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• It’s easy to compare Jet, an e-commerce site that held its virtual grand opening today, to Amazon. The startup wants to be compared to and compete with Amazon: its founder’s last venture, Quidsi, sold household goods through the sites diapers.com, soap.com, and wag.com, and ended up acquired by Amazon.

  The expensive part of an e-commerce business is purchasing and storing the actual items that you plan to sell, and Jet is getting around that by using “partner” retailers all over the country for many items. Imagine if Amazon had started up with its Marketplace in place: it would have been able to expand its inventory without investing money in buildings or in inventory.

  Comparisons to Amazon are inevitable, and even the site’s prices know this: all prices are benchmarked against the Everything Store’s price for the same item, with Jet’s price shown as a discounted version of Amazon’s.

  One of Jet’s secrets is that they’ll be using a fancy version of drop shipping, which they’re calling “concierge” service. You might see something for sale on the site at a competitive price. The Wall Street Journal reports that’s because if you order certain items, Jet will actually be ordering them for you from other sites instead of shipping them out of their own inventory or their partners’.

  Stranger still, the concierges at Jet may, when possible, use affiliate links that earn them a small percentage of the purchase price back. It’s as if they were using eBates while shopping for the entire country. Customers can also use these affiliate links themselves, shopping on other sites and earning “Jet cash” that can be used on the site.

  Have you tried Jet yet? Membership in the site costs $50 per year, but the first three months are free. They apparently really, really want to take as much business as possible away from Amazon. If you want to share your experiences, whether they’re good, bad, or boring and ordinary, you know where to find us.

  Jet.com Uses Clever Tactic to Save Money [Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uThe Death Star Finally Getting Its Satellite: FCC Moves To Approve AT&T, DirecTV Mergerr

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• The $49 billion merger of AT&T and DirecTV began so long ago, there aren’t many of alive who can tell the origin story of this long-delayed marriage. Today, it looks federal regulators are willing to give their blessing to the union.

  FCC Chair Tom Wheeler has confirmed that the agency’s five commissioners are now reviewing an order recommending conditional approval of AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV.

  “The proposed order outlines a number of conditions that will directly benefit consumers by bringing more competition to the broadband marketplace,” reads a statement from the Commish.

  One requirement would purportedly result in 12.5 million locations having access to high-speed fiberoptic broadband, an increase of about 10 times AT&T’s current fiber footprint.

  There are two conditions that specifically deal with the recently enacted Open Internet Order of 2015 (you might know it as Net Neutrality).

  “AT&T will not be permitted to exclude affiliated video services and content from data caps on its fixed broadband connections,” explains Wheeler.

  The second neutrality-related condition involves AT&T’s interconnection practices, meaning the way it handles its network’s connection to others on the Internet.

  The merged company “will be required to submit all completed interconnection agreements to the Commission, along with regular reports on network performance,” says Wheeler, adding that there will be an independent officer in charge of ensuring compliance with these and other proposed conditions.

  “These strong measures will protect consumers, expand high-speed broadband availability, and increase competition,” concludes the Commissioner.

  The merger requires approval by both the FCC, which looks at the deal’s impact on the telecom market and on consumers, and the Justice Dept., which examines pending mergers through an antitrust lens. The DOJ folks have already given their go-ahead for this combination.

  Though the AT&T/DirecTV deal was long-delayed, it never seemed doomed to the fate of recently blocked mergers like Comcast/Time Warner Cable or even AT&T’s failed attempt to acquire T-Mobile. In both cases, the merging companies backed off their nuptials after regulators let it be known they would fight them in court.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uLongest-Running Pizza Hut Restaurant Set To Close After 55 Yearsr

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  A Google Maps image shows the store front of the longest-running Pizza Hut restaurant in the U.S., which is set to close on Sunday.

  A slice of Pizza Hut’s cheesy pie-filled history is set to devoured this weekend, as the company prepares to close its longest-operating restaurant in the U.S.

  The location, which has been in operation for nearly 55 years in Manhattan, KS, will close its doors for the last time on Sunday, The Topeka Capital-Journal reports.

  Pizza Hut began serving piping hot pies to customers in 1958 in Wichita, KS, just down the road a few hours from Manhattan – home of Kansas State University.

  The owner of the restaurant, who operates several other Pizza Hut locations in the area, said closing was the “toughest decision I’ve had to make in my life,” but that he finally acknowledged that the financial side of the business outweighed its historical significance.

  The man tells the Capital-Journal that the restaurant, built in Manhattan’s Aggieville entertainment district in 1960, simply wasn’t designed to handle the changing pizza habits of customers, who now favor delivery.

  “If you had asked me in 1960, how long the Aggieville store would have lasted, I doubt I would’ve said almost 55 years,” the owner said. “No one here even knew what a pizza was! Imagine that! But I don’t think I would have guessed how big Pizza Hut – and Manhattan and Fort Riley and Kansas State – would get either.”

  While the closure of the longest-running Pizza Hut is historically significant for the chain, it represents an incredibly small fraction of the company’s more than 11,000 restaurants.

  Nation’s longest-running Pizza Hut in Manhattan to close Sunday [The Topeka Capital-Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uDo You Have A Secret For Cooking A Well-Done Burger That Doesn’t Taste Like A Hockey Puck?r

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  (frankieleon)

  To all the burger buffs out there: When you’re cooking your favorite sandwich and someone asks for their burger to be cooked well-done, do you ostracize them and declare them unwelcome on your lands until they apologize, or do you have a go-to method for cooking a non-pink patty that you’re not ashamed of?

  If so, we’d love to hear from you for an upcoming project on burgers and the many opinions surrounding them.

  So whether you keep your burger moist by putting a frozen pat of butter in the middle, or you marinate the beef before cooking, or you’ve mastered some special broiler/oven combination, let us know at tips@consumerist.com with “WELL-DONE DONE WELL” in the subject line.

  Try to be as specific and precise as possible. If you use a specific cut of beef, or grind your own at home, give us as many details as you can in case we want to replicate it. Even if you’re using someone else’s recipe, just point us to it. We’re not making a cookbook, just trying to get a sense of the different ways a well-done burger can be made more palatable.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist