WalMart is its own judge

[Balta1701]

This story is so remarkable it's hard to believe. A few years ago, WalMart was facing charges for using child labor. They ended up with a settlement giving them a fine on the order of $100,000, and an agreement with the government where the Feds couldn't inspect their stores for child labor without the Feds first giving a 15 day notice.

 

Sound like WalMart got off Easy? Want to know why? Well, it turns out, the Bush Administration's Department of Labor literally let them write parts of their own settlement.

 

Thank God WalMart is now able to use illegal child labor without having to face major difficulties. If WalMart couldnt' break the law, I don't know where our Country would be.

 

Between 1998 and 2002, there were two dozen allegations that Wal-Mart had violated federal child labor laws by requiring teenagers to use hazardous equipment, such as chain saws and loading paper bales.  Considering that the retail giant has been accused of discriminating against women, violating wage and hour laws, and, as David wrote last week, pushing the limits of legality with its new health care policy, the image of a child, donned in a blue apron  with a smiley-face logo, flailing around a Wal-Mart store with a chain saw might not be surprising.

 

What is more appalling than the alleged acts is the way the Labor Department handled the case.  The agency went behind closed doors and entered into a secret agreement with Wal-Mart on January 6, the details of which were not made available to the public until the NY Times uncovered them in mid-February. 

 

The substance of the agreement was questionable at best.  Wal-Mart agreed to pay a fine of $135,000 (the equivalent of 15 seconds worth of sales for the corporation).  In exchange, the company received a guaranteed 15 days' notice before DOL would initiate future investigations. 

 

The substance of the agreement, or lack thereof, led to justified outrage among workers' advocates in Congress who immediately called for an investigation into the process by which it was formed.  How could it possibly be that Wal-Mart was accused of violating the law and yet ended up with a "penalty" providing it the benefit of advanced notice whenever complaints were made against it?  If anything, the alleged violation seemed to have put Wal-Mart in a better position relative to federal law enforcement than it was previously.

 

Yesterday, the Labor Department's Inspector General issued a report summarizing the findings of his investigation.  The IG concluded that "serious breakdowns" in the settlement process led to "significant concessions" to Wal-Mart.  In fact "significant provisions were authored by Wal-Mart attorneys and never questioned by" Labor Department investigators. Moreover, the Solicitor of Labor's office was not asked to review the settlement or participate in negotiations.

[Iwritecode]

I worked at a Wal-Mart parttime for a couple of years. They were always pretty strict about who could and couldn't use the lifts, balers, whatever. It's kinda funny that when I first read child-labor I didn't envision a 17-year-old throwing cardboard into a baler. Hell I was running lawnmower by the time I was 10.

 

Meanwhile when I was 16 I worked at a bowling alley and had to shovel dirt for 8 hours in the middle of summer while getting paid minimum wage. At a bowling alley!!! When I came back the next day and was told to "grab a shovel" I walked out. There's some child labor for ya.

 

My wife works 3rd shift at a KW Mobil and doesn't get a lunch break. I KNOW that is illegal.