Wal-Mart was recently fined 135,540 in civil money penalties for infringing the youth provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, by permitting teenagers to operate dangerous equipment. Investigations conducted by the Department Of Labor show that over eighty five minors aged sixteen and seventeen were performing illegal activities, including loading and occasionally operating or unloading scrap paper balers, and operating fork lifts. Due to the investigations and fines Wal-Mart stores and super centers have agreed to put into effect the following, designated corporation official would be put in place to supervise, new and current store managers will be trained on child labor compliance's, and signs issued by the Department Of Labor will be posted indicating age restrictions.
Not only has Wal-Mart been prosecuted for its violations of the youth provisions but also for giving low wages. It has been said that a “A Wal-Mart associate can not earn enough to support a family.” The average full time Wal-Mart associate makes $17,114 a year, mean while the average two-person home needs $27,948 to meet basic needs. Health care falls short by failing to cover over 775,000 of their employees. Wal-Mart is reported to have purchased $18 billion of goods from China making it responsible for about 1/10th of the U.S. trade deficit. China filed a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in claiming that workers were not paid the legal minimum wage, not permitted to take holidays off, and was forced to work overtime. Workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nicaragua and Swaziland brought a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in asserting that the company's codes of conduct were violated in dozens of ways.
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