Employee Rights Violations At Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Over the years, Wal-Mart has had several HR issues including the following three: wage law violations and the exploitation of workers, discrimination (gender, age, disability), and poor and unsafe working conditions.

One of several class action lawsuits against Wal-Mart was the case Salvas vs. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (2008). The class action lawsuit accused the retailer of denying workers rest and meal breaks, refusing to pay overtime, and manipulating time cards to lower employees’ pay. Another case in California involved 116,000 Wal-Mart employees against Wal-Mart retailers claiming that they violated a California law requiring employers to provide an unpaid 30-minute lunch break to employees who work at least six hours. According to a study released by Congressional Democrats, Wal-Mart wages are incredibly low, which forces many of its workers to still have to rely on government aid programs and assistance such as food stamps. Not only has Wal-Mart underpaid and exploited its workers in the US, they are also notoriously known for these unethical practices overseas, such as harming workers in Asian factories.

Another prevalent HRM issue that Wal-Mart has faced is discrimination against its workers in terms of gender, age, and disability.

One of the most notable cases was discrimination against pregnant workers. Up until 2014, a Wal-Mart in Arkansas had a company-wide policy that denied pregnant women the same accommodations as workers with other disabilities. Wal-Mart has been accused of overworking and firing women who are pregnant and putting them in potentially dangerous situations. Wal-Mart’s female workers have a faced a systemic pattern of sex/gender discrimination. Wal-Mart has been subject to several lawsuits alleging that female employees have been denied equal job assignments, promotions, training and compensation, as well as experiencing sexual harassment and

discrimination.
Lastly, Wal-Mart’s other HR issue is its lack of providing safe work conditions. In 2013, workers from a warehouse in California led a two-day strike and filed a complaint with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health alleging a number of safety violations such as unclean drinking water; emergency exits blocked by boxes and merchandise; forklift brakes, seatbelts and horns that do not work; lack of ventilation or adequate water amid intense heat, and various other safety violations.
Each of these issues has had a substantial financial impact on the Wal-Mart organization. Because of Wal-Mart’s poor business practices, Walmart has paid millions of dollars in class action lawsuits with an estimated 5,000 lawsuits filed against the company each year. With these lawsuits, Walmart has been forced to spend a considerable amount on attorney fees; one case in 2002 cost the company a whopping $33.8 million dollars when a worker sued for unpaid wages, which then became a class action lawsuit. However, Walmart’s HR issues have had little to no impact on consumer demand and stock growth.
Large impact on company’s reputation
It is evident from the many cases against the company that Walmart’s exploitation of its workers has been a reoccurring issue.