Federal investigators will review a
$135,540 settlement the government reached with Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
(WMT), the world's biggest retailer, over accusations that the company
violated child labor laws. The investigation was sought by Rep. George
Miller. The California Democrat had criticized the deal made public
Feb. 12 because it provided that Wal-Mart would receive 15 days notice
in most cases before the Labor Department investigated employee
complaints of wage and hour violations. Miller, the top Democrat on the
House Education and Workforce Committee, said the two-week window could
give Wal-Mart a chance to sweep violations under the rug. "We plan to
review the circumstances surrounding this agreement," Labor Department
Inspector General Gordon S. Heddell wrote in a letter to Miller. The
congressman's office released the letter Friday. The letter didn't
offer details on the scope or timing of the review. The alleged violations, at
25 stores in Arkansas, Connecticut and New Hampshire between 1998 and
2002, had to do with teenage workers who used hazardous equipment such
as chain saws, paper balers or forklifts. One case in New Hampshire
involved a youth who is alleged to have been using a chain saw to trim
Christmas trees. A majority of the cases in Connecticut involved
allegations of children loading paper balers. Child labor laws prohibit
anyone under 18 from operating hazardous equipment. Wal-Mart denied the
allegations but agreed to pay the penalty. [more]