| Walmart locked janitors in stores Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/7858391.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsphttp://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/7858391.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Posted on Mon, Feb. 02, 2004 Suit alleges Wal-Mart locked janitors into stores
STEVE STRUNSKY Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. - A civil rights suit filed against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. by Mexican immigrants has been expanded to include plaintiffs from Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and to accuse Wal-Mart of locking its janitors inside stores during their shifts.
A lawyer for Wal-Mart denied the allegations.
Monday's amendment to a suit filed Nov. 10 in U.S. District Court in Newark comes as a federal grand jury in Pennsylvania weighs evidence to determine whether America's biggest retailer will face criminal charges in the use of illegal immigrants to clean its stores.
On Oct. 23, INS agents raided Wal-Mart stores across the country in a sweep that resulted in the arrest of hundreds of janitors on immigration charges.
Among those arrested then were the 17 named plaintiffs in the civil suit, including 11 Mexican immigrants who were working in stores in New Jersey and Texas and made up the original plaintiffs, plus the six Eastern Europeans amended to the list of plaintiffs.
All but one of the janitors named in the suit have been released from INS custody pending deportation hearings, and remain in the United States, including nine in New Jersey, two in Texas, one in Alabama, two in Florida and two in Virginia, said Gilberto Garcia, their immigration lawyer. Garcia said one janitor voluntarily returned to his native Czech Republic.
Another lawyer for the plaintiffs, James Lindsay, said more than 100 people have signed onto the suit, though most are not named. In addition, Lindsay said, the suit seeks class-action status through which Wal-Mart could be liable for damages to "thousands" of other janitors allegedly treated the same way.
The suit alleges that employees were locked in stores with warnings from managers not to use emergency fire exits for anything but a fire, or they'd be fired. Lindsay said he and other lawyers decided to re-interview their clients then amend the suit after reading a report in The New York Times last month that contained a separate allegation that janitors were being locked in.
The original suit claimed some workers were forced to work seven-day, 70-hour weeks, for $1,500 a month.
The suit is being brought under the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, typically invoked by federal prosecutors to fight organized crime. It charges that Wal-Mart tried to shield itself from liability under labor or immigration laws by using independent contractors to employ the immigrants.
David Murray, a lawyer for Wal-Mart, said the allegations were "absolutely incorrect."
Murray said that concern for workers' rights was the reason the chain eliminated the use of cleaning contractors in 80 percent of its stores. Wal-Mart has 3,500 stores nationwide with 1.2 million employees.
Murray acknowledged that doors were kept locked, but insisted that a manager with a key was always present.
"This was simply an effort to keep the employees safe and keep the merchandize secure," Murray said. "Obviously, the company is troubled by allegations that any outside contractors were treating their workers unfairly. But none of the workers were mistreated by any Wal-Mart associates."
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