uDrugmaker Recalls Nearly 500,000 Epinephrine Injectors Used To Treat Allergic Reactionsr

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• When you or someone you know suffers a severe allergy reaction, the quick use of an epinephrine pen (commonly known as an EpiPen) is likely needed. But one drugmaker says it’s recalling tens of thousands of those devices because they might work correctly. 

  Sanofi SA, a French drugmaker, announced Wednesday that it would recall all of the Auvi-Q injection pens currently on the market – about 490,000 packs of the devices in the U.S – because they may not deliver the correct dose.

  If a patient experiencing a serious allergic reaction – known as anaphylaxis – does not receive the intended dose, there could be significant health consequences, including death.

  According to a recall notice from the Food & Drug Administration, there have been 26 reports of suspected device malfunctions in the U.S. and Canada.

  In the reports, patients described symptoms of the underlying hypersensitivity reaction. No deaths have been linked to the issue.

  Auvi-Q is packaged with two active devices and one trainer device in a corrugated box, and distributed throughout the U.S. at wholesalers, pharmacies, and hospitals.

  Sanofi says all customers using Auvi-Q should immediately contact their healthcare providers for a prescription for an alternate epinephrine auto-injector.

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uDon’t Go To Chick-Fil-A On Friday Expecting Unlimited Nuggets For $13r

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  Word has spread across the Internet of a truly glorious event coming up later this week: all you can eat chicken nuggets and waffle fries at Chick-Fil-A for four hours in the evening. People shared the ad on Facebook and adjusted their weekend plans accordingly, but failed to notice one important detail: the promotion is only at one location, in Florida.

  Yes, more than a hundred thousand people shared the ad on Facebook. Some of them surely live in the area or were only wishing that it was available in their area, but most of those sharers probably didn’t pay attention and spread the word.

  Before sharing, at least some people did think to check with the brand about whether the ad was some kind of hoax.

  

  If you live in or near St. Pete Beach, Florida, this promotion is for you. Evidently, they’re going to expect a large crowd. The promotion is only at that location: not others in Florida, or in the region. While people elsewhere are disappointed, this is an important lesson about why you should read all of the words on something before hitting “share” on Facebook.

  AdAge checked with Chick-fil-A corporate to find out whether this was maybe going to become a national promotion. No such luck. “The last thing we want to do is disappoint any customers,” he said. “But there are definitely not any plans to make it national.”

  At least now they know that if they wanted to, or if any other franchisee wants to give it a try, people will be really excited about the prospect of stuffing their faces with nuggets and fries. They should just make sure to emphasize the location in any ads shared online.

  St. Pete Beach Chick-fil-A’s all-you-can-eat chicken nugget promotion goes viral [Tampa Bay Times]
  Florida Chick-Fil-A’s Unlimited-Nuggets Promo Disappoints Facebook Users in 49 States [AdAge]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uFacebook Wants To Kill Game Invites And The “Other Messages” Folder, Users Rejoicer

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• We have good news and bad news when it comes to Facebook features. The social media platform is getting rid of two almost universally-disliked features: the “Other” inbox that hardly anyone used, and the ability to send your friends game invites that they probably don’t want. However, the replacement spam-filter could be more annoying than the existing solution.

  The “Other” inbox used to be where messages from anyone you aren’t friends with would go. Its replacement is less like a spam filter and more like a ringing phone with Caller ID: you’ll receive a notification designed more for the mobile “Messenger” app giving you the name of the person who wants to message you and some basic profile information.

  Meanwhile, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told attendees at a Q&A at the Indian Institute of Technology that users in India had alerted him to the extent of the problem, and that ditching the feature would be a priority for the company at some point in the future. He didn’t say when or what the notifications would be replaced with, but it’s true that Facebook games are less popular than they used to be.

  Zuckerberg Vows to Stop Annoying Facebook Game Invites [Wall Street Journal]
  Forget phone numbers! [Facebook]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uJCPenney Has Lots Of Data On Shoppers, Isn’t Using It For Anythingr

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  The new CEO of JCPenney, a chain of department stores that had a brief and disastrous attempt at becoming more hip and upscale, says that the company is done “patching holes” in its business, and that it’s time to start building itself up for the future. That includes something that retailers now generally take for granted: using its customer data to sell more stuff to the customers that it has.

  The number of shoppers is back up where it was before the reign of CEO Ron Johnson, but total sales aren’t. That means customers are at least walking in the door or clicking on the website and making purchases, but they aren’t spending as much on average as they used to. New CEO Marvin Ellison pointed out at a conference this week that the company has data on tens of millions of shoppers, but doesn’t really do anything with it.

  Possible ideas for all of that data include making forecasts based on past sales figures, analyzing each customer’s purchases to send them special offers and coupons, and to figure out what’s selling best by region and by store.

  J.C. Penney tapping tech to claw back billions in lost sales [Fortune]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uFeds Once Again Increase Scrutiny Of Allegiant Airlines After Repairs For Unsecured Boltsr

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  When an Allegiant Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Peoria was speeding down the runway and the nose lifted too soon, pilots aborted the takeoff. That August incident – in which a bolt was found to be insecure – led the budget carrier to inspect all of its aircraft. While the company deemed its planes were in working order, a new report suggests that might not be the case. 

  Bloomberg reports that mechanics for the airline found at least three additional incidents in which portions of the planes weren’t properly locked in place.

  Although Allegiant maintains the newly found problems weren’t related to the August issue, federal regulators say they have once again increased scrutiny of the budget carrier.

  “The FAA intensified its focus on the carrier’s flight operations and aircraft maintenance programs,” the Federal Aviation Administration said.

  According to Allegiant repair logs, the August incident that led the airline to inspect its planes occurred because the so-called elevator boost actuator – panels on the tail used to climb and descent – was disconnected.

  Bloomberg reports that subsequent maintenance reports show aircraft checked after the incident included two planes that had unsecured elevator bolts, while a third jet had an unsecured bolt on an aileron – a portion of the wing used to make turns.

  Allegiant didn’t consider the findings to be part of the inspection results because it involved a different part of the aircraft than that involved in the August incident, a spokesperson tells Bloomberg.

  “During the fleet-wide inspection of the elevator boost actuators, Allegiant mechanics made additional repairs to other aircraft, as they do each and every day,” the company said. “As these repairs were outside the scope of the fleet campaign in question, they were logged per normal procedure.”

  Under FAA rules airlines are required to report all maintenance activities. But those reports don’t have to be disclosed immediately. Instead, they are entered into a database and shared quarterly.

  While Allegiant didn’t break any regulations by not immediately reporting its findings, safety experts say the issues were serious.

  John Goglia, a former member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, tells Bloomberg that the multiple instances of unsecured bolts and their locations on the aircraft “should result in a focused FAA audit.”

  Work on flight control systems – the devices at issue for Allegiant’s planes – is considered critical because errors can lead to accidents.

  “This is a primary flight control on the airplane. Anything less than perfect work on this system can have catastrophic results,” he said.

  FAA Zeros In on Unsecured Tail Bolts; Risk Is Catastrophic [Bloomberg]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uAmazon “Prime Now” Drivers Accuse Company Of Wage Theftr

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  If you’re in one of the markets where Amazon offers one- to two-hour “Prime Now” deliveries, the courier who comes to your door may be wearing an Amazon uniform, but they might not be Amazon employees. Some Prime Now drivers in California are accusing the e-commerce giant of using their “independent contractor” status to get away without paying them a legal wage.

  In both Los Angeles and in the San Francisco Bay area, Prime Now couriers are contracted out through third party messenger services like Scoobeez, which is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

  These drivers say that even though they are classified as independent contractors, they are really full-time employees who aren’t receiving the benefits and protections of that designation.

  According to the complaint [PDF] filed yesterday in a California Superior Court in Los Angeles, the Scoobeez drivers are required to work regular shifts, wear uniforms — shirts and hats — that identify them to customers as representatives of Amazon Prime Now, and agree to exclusively deliver packages for Amazon.

  The drivers claim they are required to show up 15 minutes early for every shift but receive no compensation. This runs counter to the traditional idea of hourly contract employees who are paid for all the time they spend at work. Likewise, if work is slow, drivers say they have been sent home without being compensated for the rest of their shift.

  Additionally, these drivers allege they are sometimes made to work six or seven consecutive days, which would trigger overtime pay if they were actual employees.

  In some ways, the plaintiffs say they are really Amazon employees, as it is the e-tailer and not Scoobeez that determines how many and which packages are assigned to drivers. According to the complaint, Amazon also determines the order in which all packages are delivered by each driver.

  In spite of their independent contractor status, drivers say they can’t negotiate their hourly wage but must accept the rate given by the defendants. Yet they allege Amazon and Scoobeez have not only reserved the right to change what drivers are paid, but have exercised that right.

  The complaint says that these drivers were hired based on a wage of $11/hour plus $2.50 for every delivery made, and tips. Then last month, that per-delivery bonus was eliminated and drivers were made to sign new contracts that only included the $11/hour base pay plus tips. In all cases, the drivers say they were never allowed to receive copies of any of their employment contracts.

  There is an Amazon app that allows customers to tip their Prime Now drivers, and Amazon claims that all tips to the courier, but the plaintiffs claim they are not allowed to see how much a customer has tipped so they have no idea if they are actually receiving this money.

  Because drivers are made to use their own vehicles and they are not reimbursed for fuel, insurance, and tolls, some couriers say that they end up netting less than the $9/hour minimum wage in California.

  The potential class action — which seeks back wages, waiting time penalties, restitution, and other damages — alleges that by classifying these drivers as independent contractors, Amazon and Scoobeez are depriving the couriers of “substantial rights and benefits of employment” as “part of an on-going unfair and/or unlawful business practice.”

  In addition to the allegation of sometimes paying below minimum wage, the complaint also says the defendants failed to compensate these drivers for overtime, reimburse them for vital business expenses, provide off-duty meal time as required by state law, and furnish accurate wage statements.

  “Amazon’s mission to deliver ‘Now’ at no additional cost to its customers is being funded by the delivery drivers,” says Oakland-based attorney Beth Ross who is representing the drivers. “Unlike the drones that Amazon hopes to eventually replace them with, these drivers are human beings with rent to pay and families to feed.”

  This is familiar territory for Ross. In 2014, she reached a $227 million settlement deal with FedEx over similar allegations.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uLyft Can Send You Free Zombies On Demand For Halloweenr

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• Companies that send vehicles on demand also enjoy giving people the ability to summon other things with the power of their smartphones, like when Uber let people in select cities summon puppies and kittens or free fruit deliveries when the company was suspended from giving rides in Germany. Lyft’s Halloween publicity stunt is less cuddly and more spooky: they’ll send you zombies on demand if you order one.

  This is the second promotional event for Lyft in the last half of October: you might remember that the company also offered a few people in New York City rides through time in hired DeLoreans on October 21, the day that the main characters in Back to the Future: Part II supposedly traveled to. October 30 is the day before Halloween, so customers can use the app to summon on-demand zombies.

  No, not actual zombies. Probably. We believe that the zombies are actors made up and pretending to be zombies, though you can never really be sure.

  The promotion works similarly to the puppies and kittens: if you’re in New York or San Francisco and manage to hail a zombie on the appointed day, one will appear at your home or office. That’s it.

  Your Guide to the 2015 Lyft Zombie Apocalypse [Lyft Blog]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist