Loblaws

INDEX

Title Page No

1. Introduction 2

2. Cause of class action 3

3. Negative Media Coverage 3

4. Ethical Issues 4

5. Recommendations 5

6. Bibliography 6

Introduction:

The first Loblaw store was established in 1919. Loblaw Companies Limited is the largest food retailer in Canada, with over, 1400 supermarkets operating under a variety of regional banners, including the namesake Loblaws. Loblaw encompasses 1,036 corporate and franchised stores, 376 associate stores and 4,692 independent stores.

In August 2002, an employee at the Loblaws store located at 3671, Dundas Street was diagnosed with Hepatitis A and ultimately it was exposed to the approximately 19,200 people in response. A settlement of this action was reached between the parties and approved on June 15, 2006. The claims process closed on October 31, 2006 and the settlement funds have been disbursed by the Settlement Administrator to all eligible claimants. Persons infected with Hepatitis A were granted an amount decided upon through an arbitration/mediation process.

Causes of Class Action:

There was negligence on part of Loblaws with regards to operational activities, training, food controlling.  In August 2002, an employee was diagnosed suffering from Hepatitis A.  The public health department of the city of Toronto released this information.  Employee carrying communicable disease worked in the fruit and vegetable section of the store.  Society was exposed to the risk of infection with Hepatitis A and contract of selling safe products was breached by Loblaws.  In relation to Ethic and Stakeholder Management, the above action was regarded unethical for Consumers, Employees, Government, and Owners.

Negative Media Coverage:

There was no negative media coverage associated with the class action as the loblaws store has a high reputation for its products and quality. Neither the media nor the plaintiff’s had any...