LITTLE ROCK — Attorneys acting on behalf of California workers at warehouses that supply Wal-Mart stores filed an amended federal court complaint Friday seeking to add the retailer as a defendant in a case against the operator of the warehouses.

The lawsuit alleges multiple violations including paying warehouse workers less than minimum wage, failing to pay overtime and, in some cases, requiring workers to work off the clock.

The suit, originally filed in October 2011, claims that the warehouses are controlled by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. despite being operated by Schneider Logistics Inc. and being staffed by temporary staffing agencies Premier Warehousing Ventures and Impact Logistics.

Schneider Logistics is a transportation and warehousing firm based in Green Bay, Wis.

The case is in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Eastern Division.

“The more we’ve learned in the past year about Wal-Mart’s procedures, the more obvious it becomes that Wal-Mart shares full legal responsibility,” said Kevin Kish, an attorney for plaintiffs in the case.

David Acosta, a warehouse worker, said on a conference call with reporters that he worked three years at Wal-Mart-controlled warehouses at less than minimum wage, was not paid overtime despite 12- to 16-hour days with no breaks except for lunch.

“Wal-Mart needs to take responsibility,” he said.

Dan Fogleman, a spokesman for Bentonville-based Wal-Mart, said the company disagrees with the perceptions of the plaintiffs in their amended complaint.

“Wal-Mart is Schneider’s customer. We have a set of business needs that we pay them to meet, just like any company might hire an accounting firm to do taxes or an advertising firm to help launch a new product.

“While we have a set of quality standards that must be met, the third-party service providers we utilize are responsible for running their day-to-day business. They manage their people completely independent of us,” Fogelman said via e-mail Friday.

Juan De Lara, a University of Southern California professor of supply chain management, said on the conference call that in the past, blue-collar jobs such as those in the warehouses were sufficient to support a family. That’s no longer the case, he said.

“They’re not being paid for the work required,” he said.

Michael Rubin, a labor lawyer representing plaintiffs in the case, Carrillo vs. Schneider Logistics, said Wal-Mart is among several companies that have been violating California labor law for years.

“We believe Wal-Mart knows exactly what is happening and is ultimately responsible for stealing millions of dollars from the low-wage warehouse workers who move Wal-Mart merchandise,” Rubin said in a news release.

The amended claim states, in part, “Recent discovery has established that Wal-Mart bears ultimate responsibility for the violations of state and federal law committed against plaintiff warehouse workers, and is jointly and severally liable with the other defendants for the unlawful acts alleged in this class action lawsuit.”

Business, Pages 29 on 12/01/2012