How are Walmart‘s prices so cheap? Well, you can start by not paying your employees the proper amount of overtime under the wage and hour laws of our country. Add to that a lack of benefits, and you have the makings of low prices.
Walmart has settled a 2001 class action lawsuit brought by 87,000 current and past employees of the company in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. These plaintiffs alleged that Walmart denied them overtime pay, refused to give them meal breaks, and manipulated the employees’ time cards to their advantage.
We tend to place these companies on a pedestal. The more money they make, it seems like the more credibility we give them. Oh, that’s Walmart. They could do no wrong. Who could believe these greedy little employees?
We listen to the media so much. We believe everything we see and hear. Well, I’m here to tell you that there are always two sides to every story. I will bet that when this lawsuit was brought in 2001, many people, if asked, would have said that it was frivolous. Well, Walmart doesn’t pay $40 million for a frivolous claim. Walmart pays $40 million and enters into a confidentiality agreement because it doesn’t want the public to know what it did.
Next time you hear a story about a lawsuit in the media, stop and think. Give both sides thought. You may not be given the whole truth by the media. You may not understand all of the ins and outs of the legal issues. This is why we have our legal system. This is why juries get to listen to ALL of the facts and ALL of the law. The media just gives you soundbites.
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