Aclass-action lawsuit was filed against Wal-Mart Monday in Chicago federal court. The suit alleges the retail giant, as well as two staffing agencies—Labor Ready Midwest and QPS Employment Group, also defendants—violated federal minimum wage and overtime laws.
Plaintiffs in the case worked for one of the two staffing agencies and were placed with Wal-Mart for temporary work, often stocking shelves and other menial tasks. The workers claim Wal-Mart did not keep records of their hours worked, and often requested they begin work early, stay late and skip breaks. Therefore, when they were underpaid by the staffing agency they had no proof. The plaintiffs also allege the defendants did not pay the minimum of four hours as required by the Illinois Day and Temporary Services Act on days they were requested to report to work and utilized for less time.
“There have been so many times I’ve been told to stay late after my shift to finish stocking the shelves, but I didn’t know they wouldn’t pay me for it,” Anthony Wright, a temp worker hired by Labor Ready and named in the suit told the media.
Wright is certainly not alone, though. Twanda Burk, another temp employee and the primary plaintiff in the lawsuit, told reporters Labor Ready pays her minimum wage, but Wal-Mart tries to “cheat” her by not paying the hours she actually works.
“I’ve proven I’m a good worker and they just want to take advantage of that,” she said.
In fact, 21 individuals are named in the lawsuit for actions stemming back to 2009 and continuing until today. The plaintiffs are requesting back pay as well as an injunction against the three companies, preventing future violations of labor laws. A Wal-Mart spokesman said the company is still reviewing the complaint.
“This litigation is being driven by the same union organizations that have been mischaracterizing several issues about Wal-Mart and are more concerned with creating publicity than with improving workers’ rights,” Wal-Mart’s spokesman Dan Fogleman told reporters. “We are committed to ensuring that anyone working in our stores—whether they’re employed by Wal-Mart or in this case, a temporary staffing agency—is treated appropriately and compensated fairly for every hour they work.”
The union organization to which Fogleman refers is the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which has members at competing grocery stores. Though not directly affiliated with Wal-Mart, UFCW backs a group of current and former Wal-Mart Employees—Organization United for Respect at Wal-Mart—that staged that first strike in company history earlier this month in Los Angeles. The group, consisting of about 1.4 million U.S.
Wal-Mart employees who are pushing for better labor conditions, is attempting to plan a Black Friday walk-off, which would wreak havoc on the store’s busiest shopping day of the year. Although Wal-Mart has long been associated with labor-busting, the Huffington Post obtained a memo earlier this month that indicated store managers have been instructed not to discipline workers who strike in the current round of labor activities.
The Illinois class-action case is Twanda Burkes et al, on behalf of themselves and all other persons similarly situated, vs. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Labor Ready Midwest Inc. And QPS Employment Group Inc., 12-08457.