LITTLE ROCK — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville and two staffing agencies with which it contracts are the targets of a lawsuit in Illinois which seeks class action status and claims employees were required to perform some work duties off the clock.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. The temporary staffing agencies named as co-defendants are Labor Ready Midwest Inc. in Chicago and QPS Employment Group Inc. of Milwaukee.
“Anytime a company uses a staffing agency, those workers are particularly vulnerable to abuse of their rights to be paid for all the hours they worked,” said Christopher Williams, a Chicago attorney representing plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Those workers, he said, often are required to show up early for their shifts and to stay late after clocking out. He said that under Illinois law, if a temporary worker shows up for work and his or her shift is canceled, the company must pay the worker a minimum of four hours of wages.
Federal and Illinois laws require strict record-keeping and “that’s not happening here,” Williams said. The defendants in the case have 60 days to file a response, he said.
“We don’t know right now how big the class is. We expect it’s fairly large,” Williams said, adding that it could grow into a national collective action. The case was filed in Illinois, he said, because of its record-keeping laws regarding hours worked.
The lawsuit would only become class-action if the judge or an appeals court approves.
Dan Fogleman, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said company officials are still reviewing the lawsuit, but said that “one thing is clear: 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 improving worker’s rights.
“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.”
A news release issued by a group known as Making Change at Wal-Mart quoted several temporary Wal-Mart employees.
“I only get paid minimum wage and yet Labor Ready and Walmart still try to cheat me by not paying me for the time I actually work,” said Twanda Burks, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. “I’ve proven that I’m a good worker, and they just want to take advantage of that.”
Anthony Wright, a temporary worker at Labor Ready, said he often has been told to stay late to stock shelves, “but I didn’t know they wouldn’t pay me for it.”
Making Change at Wal-Mart is an organization funded primarily by the United Food and Commercial Workers union that also includes community groups, women’s advocacy groups and others.
Wal-Mart’s stock closed Monday at $75.65, up 3 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded between $55.60 and $77.60 in the past year.
Business, Pages 21 on 10/23/2012