Attorney Alex Robertson and UFCW 1445 Shut Down Purchasing App That Deprives Macy's Workers of Their Commissions

On April 22, 2021, a neutral arbitrator ordered Macy's to stop using its "Scan and Pay" mobile app in store departments where unionized workers earn commissions for their sales.  The case was brought by UFCW, Local 1445 on behalf of represented employees in Boston, Braintree, Natick, Peabody, and Saugus, Mass. and in Warwick, Rhode Island.  Pyle Rome attorney Alex Robertson represented the Union in the case.

The grievance arose in 2018, when Macy's introduced its Scan and Pay app, which allows customers to pay for items through the app instead of at a traditional point-of-sale register.  While Macy's excluded certain commission departments, such as the Big Ticket and Fine Jewelry Departments, it failed to exclude other commission departments such as cosmetics and fragrances, men's clothing, and men's and women's shoes.  The arbitrator determined that, by introducing the app without excluding these other commission departments, Macy's deprived commissioned workers of the opportunity to earn commissions on products they sold.  The arbitrator therefore ordered Macy's to provide a backpay remedy to employees who lost out on commissions and to stop using the scan and pay app in all commissioned departments.