Wage Law

U.S. District Judge Joseph Greenaway has denied a motion by Wal-Mart Stores to dismiss a lawsuit filed by undocumented workers who claim they were not paid fair wages and overtime, and that store managers locked the doors at night to keep cleaning crews detained inside.

Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million last March to resolve a criminal investigation into its employment practices, but that payment does not affect the pending class action suit filed on behalf of the affected janitors.

Even though Federal law prohibits employers from hiring illegal aliens, Wal-Mart argued that it should be excused from liability for wage violations because the employees were illegal. Judge Greenaway ruled that such workers have the right to seek relief "for work already performed under the Fair Labor Standards Act." Wal-Mart also unsuccessfully argued that it did not employ the workers, because it used a subcontractor as the employer of record, and that (this was our favorite) the wage claims should be dismissed because Wal-mart had paid "near" minimum wage to many of the workers. Though the court did dismiss racketeering charges, the plaintiffs were given 45 days to amend their complaint to plead the racketeering claims more fully.

It seems that Wal-Mart's employment practices are becoming daily news. The company has even become the subject of a new Jib-Jab animation. If it's true that no publicity is bad publicity, Wal-Mart's public relations department must be thrilled.