Sears Statement on Impact of New Federal Overtime Rules

At a news conference in Washington, D.C. today, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) incorrectly reported the impact new overtime rules would have on the employees of Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE: S). As a result of those new overtime pay rules that went into effect today, less than 1 percent of Sears' 190,000 employees now classified as exempt will be reclassified as non-exempt and now will be eligible for overtime pay. Furthermore, no Sears associate is losing eligibility for overtime due to the new regulations.

Sen. Harkin referenced an erroneous newspaper article that was corrected 10 days ago.

About Sears

Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a leading broadline retailer providing merchandise and related services. With revenues in 2003 of $41.1 billion, the company offers its wide range of home merchandise, apparel and automotive products and services through more than 2,300 Sears-branded and affiliated stores in the U.S. and Canada, including approximately 870 full-line stores and 1,100 specialty stores in the U.S. Sears also offers a variety of merchandise and services through sears.com, landsend.com, and specialty catalogs. Sears is the only retailer where consumers can find each of the Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard and Lands' End brands together -- among the most trusted and preferred brands in the U.S. The company is the largest provider of product repair services with more than 14 million service calls made annually.

SOURCE: Sears, Roebuck and Co.

CONTACT: News Media Contact, Chris Brathwaite of Sears, Roebuck and Co.,
+1-847-286-4681

Web site: http://www.sears.com/