Target

Reasons to avoid

1. Target settled a $4.6 million class action lawsuit on behalf of 13,700 distribution center workers in New Jersey who were not paid for mandatory security screenings and long walks to their work stations before and after each shift. Workers were required to clock in only after reaching their assigned posts, leaving minutes of compulsory on-site time uncompensated every day.newsweek.com2026-01-03
2. A federal lawsuit filed in 2025 accused Target of deliberately understaffing stores so that salaried Executive Team Leaders would have to perform hourly work like stocking shelves and unloading trucks, while remaining classified as managers exempt from overtime pay. The suit alleges this was an intentional cost-cutting measure in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.kare11.com2025-02-13
3. Five days after Trump's inauguration in January 2025, Target ended its $2 billion Racial Equity Action and Change initiative and pulled out of the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. The reversal came despite years of public commitments made following George Floyd's murder and triggered a nationwide boycott that drove store traffic down for eleven consecutive weeks.retailbrew.com2025-05-13
4. In September 2023, Target closed nine stores in four states, publicly blaming theft and organized retail crime. A monthslong CNBC investigation found that the closed stores generally had fewer reported crimes than nearby Target locations that stayed open, raising questions about whether the announcement was designed to lobby for retail crime legislation or mask poor financial performance.nbcnews.com2023-12-19
5. Target pledged to reduce virgin plastic use in its own-brand packaging by 20% by 2025. By fiscal year 2023, it was using 22% more virgin plastic than its 2020 baseline, reaching 47,000 metric tons. Only 32% of its own-brand plastic packaging was recyclable, compostable, or reusable against a stated goal of 100% by the same deadline.packagingdive.com2024-08-06