NEW YORK—As high-profile New York City stores face allegations of racial profiling, several retail chains have signed onto a customers’ bill of rights, drafted by the Retail Council of New York State.
Top on the list: No profiling based on personality or appearance, and no unreasonable searches.
Barneys, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor and The Gap are all signatories, news organizations report. The document emerges after meetings between the stores and civil rights leaders, after black shoppers said they were racially profiled at Macy’s and Barneys New York. Both stores deny the allegations.
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The document, based on existing policies, calls for internal tests to make sure stores are obeying the customers’ rights, according to news reports.
The Rev. A. Sharpton has met with incoming NYPD Commissioner William Bratton to discuss the department’s role in retail, reports say. Barneys now says it will now use video and audio surveillance to watch security staff and police while they monitor the retail floor, according to news reports.
