Tag Archives: Wal-Mart

Amazon, Walmart and the “Shameless” Economy

Posted on November 22, 2017 by Jon Rehm

With holiday shopping in full swing, Gizmodo just ran a long article about how Amazon is using an Uber-like app to hire delivery drivers as independent contractors.

Back in June, I blogged about a Walmart program where Walmart employees were being used to deliver packages. I pointed out in the piece that at least Walmart delivery drivers would be treated as employees in contrast to Fed Ex drivers and now Amazon drivers who have no employment protections like workers compensation or unemployment insurance if they get hurt on the job.

On social media, I’ve pointed out that Walmart actually seems to be better on employee classification than Amazon. That’s a pretty startling admission from me as Walmart has long been a target of criticism for their employment practices from our firm and any other sentient employee rights advocate with a platform.

When I read the Gizmodo article about Amazon, I thought about an episode of Shameless where the ever enterprising Lip underbids illegal aliens on a construction job with a group of rich kids looking to do volunteer work to bolster their college resumes. Up until now, Walmart has been a leader in the low wage economy. But leave it to Amazon to underbid Walmart in the race to the bottom.

Union-Backed Group Pushes for Better Security at Wal-Mart

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Jon Rehm

Recently, a Wal-Mart employee in Norfolk, Nebraska, was cut on the wrist by an intoxicated customer at 2:45 a.m. Unfortunately, these types of incidents are all too common at Wal-Marts, which is why one group is taking action.

The UFCW-backed group, Making Change at Wal-Mart, is pushing for increased security at Wal-Mart in the wake of an investigation by Businessweek that on average, one Wal-Mart a day is hit by a violent crime. The issue of crime at Wal-Mart is a safety issue for employees as well as shoppers.

Wal-Mart’s crime rate is six times higher than its nearest competitor, Target. Security experts attribute this in part to the fact that Wal-Mart stores have less staffing than Target stores, and that Target spends more on security. Experts also attribute Wal-Mart’s higher crime rate to the fact that it stays open 24 hours a day. The recent injury to the Wal-Mart employee in Norfolk, Nebraska, highlights the risk of overnight retail work.

Beech Grove, Indiana, Mayor Dennis Buckley became so fed up with police calls to the Wal-Mart in his town that he had Wal-Mart declared a public nuisance and fined Wal-Mart $2,500 for every police call. Mayor Buckley’s actions underscore the role that local government can play in ensuring the safety and security of retail employees. Convenience-store clerks are also vulnerable to violent crime on the job. Cities like Irving, Texas, and Milwaukee have passed city ordinances mandating security for convenience-store clerks. Both Omaha and Lincoln have city elections coming in a few months, so voters and groups supporting workers should press the candidates on the issue of retail-worker safety.

States, who traditionally oversee workers’ compensation, should consider using their 10^th -amendment police powers to protect retail workers. For example, the Indiana Department of Labor did a study documenting violence against convenience-store clerks. Finally, injuries to retail workers through violent crime are covered by workers’ compensation. State workers’ compensation systems need to remain viable so unscrupulous retailers are not able to shift the costs of violent crime against their employees onto taxpayers.

Workers Risk Injury During Holiday Shopping Season

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Jon Rehm

The day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday as it is known, is anticipated by millions of Americans as a fun holiday shopping tradition that marks the beginning of the Christmas season. But crowded stores and the hunt for bargains can create hazards for shoppers and retail workers. For example, in 2008, a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death outside a store in New York City.

But leaving aside the extreme examples of hazards, the holiday shopping season poses many less-publicized risks to retail workers.

The first risk posed to holiday workers, especially on a day like Black Friday, is the additional risk of injuries on overnight shifts. The National Institutes of Health reported that the risk of injury on an overnight shift is 30 percent higher than during a day shift. That same report also quoted a British report that showed that work injuries increased exponentially for every hour worked in a shift after eight hours. This is a risk when employees work long hours over the Black Friday weekend and when employees, many who are working another job, come to their holiday jobs after they have already worked a full day. Finally, new and temporary employees, including many holiday workers, face a higher risk for injury.

Today marks the so-called Cyber Monday, when shoppers traditionally place online orders. Online shopping has increased the need for delivery drivers. Delivery driving can be a hazardous job, due to lifting and the risk of motor-vehicle accidents. The risk of delivery driving is compounded by the fact that many delivery drivers are misclassified as independent contractors, so they lack protections like workers’ compensation. One recent story from The Indpendent out of the U.K. revealed that contract delivery drivers for Amazon.com were paid less than the minimum wage and were forced to urinate and defecate in their vehicles to make their deliveries in a timely manner.

Holiday workers face all of these risks for pay that is generally low. Plus, if an injury from a temporary holiday job prevents a person from working their regular, full-time job, that employee faces difficult issues maintaining both employment and benefits with the main, full-time employer.

If there is anything positive about the coverage of Black Friday, it’s helpful that workplace violence among low-wage workers gets covered. Among the most vulnerable to violence are convenience store clerks working overnight shifts. The Indiana Department of Labor did a study that showed 32 convenience store clerks were killed on the job in 2010. Last summer, a clerk was shot at a northwest Lincoln Kwik Shop, here in Nebraska. That murder was covered as a crime story here in Lincoln. However, that murder and the murders like it all across the country should also be covered as workplace-safety stories.

Safety, Health a Struggle at Wal-Mart, Nation’s Biggest Employer

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Rod Rehm

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the nation’s largest employer, according to USA Today. Including Sam’s Club, 2.2 million people worldwide work there, and more than 1.3 million work for the company in the United States.

Being the nation’s largest employer also should mean being responsible for employees’ health and safety. Sadly, that’s not really the case.

Charlene Obernauer, executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) recently wrote this blog post for HuffPost Business.

Her framework starts with OSHA’s citation of $7,000 when security guard Jdimytai Damour died after being trampled on Black Friday almost 7 years ago. Earlier in March, after spending more than $1 million fighting the fine, “Wal-Mart decided to withdraw their appeal and pay up, not because they admitted wrongdoing, but because of a desire to put the matter to rest,” according to Obernauer’s article.

She goes on to list examples of health and safety violations by “Wal-Mart-affiliated warehouse distributors” and Wal-Mart stores themselves. This included the following scenario:

“The company was also cited several serious violations for not immediately providing employees with adequate personal protective equipment and never offering a Hepatitis B shot after they cleaned up blood on the job, along with a number of other violations of OSHA’s bloodborne pathogen standard.”

In addition, the firm’s blog has previously featured posts that include Wal-Mart’s attitude toward injured workers on transitional duty and paying workers so little that they need public benefits.

I agree with Obernauer’s final paragraph completely.

“While finally agreeing to stop appealing a $7,000 fine after a worker died on Wal-Mart’s watch is a step in the right direction, it is a puny step down a prolonged path towards creating healthier, safer and more just jobs at Wal-Mart. They have a long way to go.”

Wal-Mart & McDonald’s: Passing the Buck to Taxpayers

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Emily Wray Stander

Today’s post comes from guest author Charlie Domer, from The Domer Law Firm in Wisconsin. I think the issue of fair wages is huge for workers. It’s right up there with the 20 states (all with Republican governors, according to NPR’s Morning Edition) that are refusing Medicaid expansion. Just because it might go with your politics or increase business profits, does not helping those who struggle make those other choices right? As the United Nations celebrated Human Rights Day earlier this week, injustices like huge corporations not paying their workers enough to live on come into even better focus. I hope that consumers who use these stores can become aware and fight against the reality that the people who are helping them, as retail workers, might not even be able to afford to get daily necessities without help from the taxpayer, thanks to business choosing profits over paying reasonable wages.

Came across this post today: “How McDonald’s and Wal-Mart Became Welfare Queens.” News like this has become so commonplace that you almost accept it with a shrug. Yeah, big box stores and fast food chains are paying their workers cruddy wages, forcing them to go on state health insurance and food stamp assistance. Oh well. Move along. Nothing to see here.

But the outrage should exist. These stories make my blood boil. Many of these companies are making massive profits. You’re telling me you can’t pay a living wage? All of us, as taxpayers, are helping pad the the coffers of these companies. By not providing sufficient wages or health care, the actual taxpayers serve as the necessary social safety net for these workers. Is that really how we want our society and country structured?

Admittedly my experience is anectodal, but I see a number of these workers in my practice–from the greeters at Wal-Mart to those flipping burgers at McDonald’s. Many are making a minimum hourly wage of $7.25. No matter how hard they work (and, in my experience, some of these fast food and retail workers are the hardest workers out there, in light of their work condition), they cannot get ahead or make enough to avoid the necessity of seeking food stamp assistance or of searching for the local food pantry.

Corporations simply should not be able to get rich on the public’s back. As taxpayers, we continue to allow this grossly one-sided equation to continue.

Workers' Compensation Watch

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Tag Archives: Wal-Mart

Amazon, Walmart and the “Shameless” Economy

Union-Backed Group Pushes for Better Security at Wal-Mart

Workers Risk Injury During Holiday Shopping Season

Safety, Health a Struggle at Wal-Mart, Nation’s Biggest Employer

Wal-Mart & McDonald’s: Passing the Buck to Taxpayers

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