Macy’s will be forced to share details of its controversial theft-prevention tactics after the city’s Human-Rights Commission served it with subpoena papers, officials said Monday.
In light of accusations by black customers that Macy’s and ritzy retailer Barneys had them stopped and questioned after making legal purchases — a practice derided as “shop-and-frisk” — Human Rights Commissioner Patricia Gatling ripped Macy’s for trying to thwart her agency.
“It is disappointing that they have not fully cooperated in the commission’s investigation into recent allegations of racial profiling at some of the city’s larger retail stores, and instead sought to dictate the terms and scope of our investigation,” Gatling said.
The HRC asked 17 large city retailers to provide information on their loss-prevention programs last month — including theft incident reports, the number of people detained, policies for approaching suspects, and information on NYPD involvement.
The panel reported that most of the outlets had provided the requested materials, but that Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s — both owned by Federated Department Stores — and several others, including Old Navy and Banana Republic, have not.
Barneys, Macy’s and the city were slapped with lawsuits from three shoppers who claim they legally bought luxury items but were falsely accused of ripping them off.