Macy's

The Daily News reported that actor Rob Brown said he was detained at Macy’s Herald Square in 2013 after buying a watch for his mother and accused of using a fake card. The New York Times on October 30, 2013, reported Black shoppers at Barneys and Macy’s saying they were profiled by security. The NY AG opened an investigation and later concluded Macy’s detained African-American, Hispanic, and other minority shoppers at significantly higher rates than whites. Customers’ accounts are allegations; the AG’s conclusions were issued in a settlement, not after a trial.

• Allegations (2013)
  2013: Rob Brown and shopping-while-Black complaintsThe New York Daily News reported on October 26, 2013, that actor Rob Brown, star of HBO’s Treme, said he was handcuffed and detained about an hour at Macy’s Herald Square after buying a watch for his mother and being accused of using a fake card. He alleged racial profiling. The New York Times on October 30, 2013, reported Black shoppers at Barneys and Macy’s saying they were profiled by security in the same period. Those are customer allegations, contemporaneous with the Barneys episode, not findings after trial.Source: New York Attorney General ↗
• $650,000 AG settlement
  August 2014: NY AG $650,000 settlementOn August 20, 2014, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced an agreement with Macy’s Retail Holdings addressing complaints of profiling and false detentions at the Herald Square flagship, covering Macy’s 42 New York stores. The AG’s office said it had complaints from close to two dozen African-American, Latino, and other minority customers, and that its review of Macy’s data showed the store investigated and detained minorities for alleged shoplifting at significantly higher rates than whites. Macy’s agreed to pay $650,000 in costs, fees, and penalties to New York State. The New York Times the same day reported Macy’s would pay $650,000 to resolve the bias inquiry. That is an attorney-general settlement of an investigation, not a jury verdict. The AG noted a separate Barneys agreement that month for $525,000; do not merge the two dollar figures.Source: New York Attorney General ↗