More on Wal-Mart
New York Times now reports:“Wal-Mart Faces Class-Action Suit.”
The case I reported earlier today has now been merged into a much bigger class action with some interesting legal theories.
“Lawyers filed a class-action suit against Wal-Mart yesterday in New Jersey, saying it violated federal racketeering laws by conspiring with cleaning contractors to cheat immigrant janitors out of wages.”
“The suit, in Federal District Court in Newark, seeks to represent thousands of workers who washed and waxed floors nightly in Wal-Mart department stores. It says the company and its contractors violated RICO, the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, by conspiring not to pay the workers overtime. The suit says the cleaners at hundreds of stores generally earned $325 to $500 for working seven nights a week, usually for 56 hours or more each week.”
“In the suit, Wal-Mart and its contractors are also accused of failing to make required workers’ compensation and Social Security payments and failing to withhold federal payroll taxes. Wal-Mart and its contractors are also accused of mail fraud, wire fraud, bringing in and harboring illegal immigrants and engaging in a “pattern of racketeering activity” to prevent officials from enforcing wage and immigration laws.”
More broadly, USA today writes: “Retail giant Wal-Mart faces challenges on many fronts.”
These include:
Grocery unions
Growth-limits activists
Retail suppliers
And of course the legal challenges to employment practices
This article gives a more balanced view, allowing the company some opportunity to respond to the critics. When you’re No. 1, lots of people will be your enemies. Bottom line: consumers will continue to love Wal-Mart and Sams as long as they continue to offer good values, and there’s no indication that’s about to stop.
