Wal-Mart added to class-action wage-theft lawsuit from contract workers

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A federal judge yesterday ruled Wal-Mart can be named as a defendant in a class-action suit over wage theft. Temporary warehouse workers are charging that a Wal-Mart contractor, Schneider Logistics, cheated 1,800 workers at an Inland Empire warehouse.

<="http://www.laborradio.org/Channels/story.aspx?ID=1857586">Workers Indpendent News reports,

A potential class action lawsuit could determine how responsible companies need to be when it comes to third-party contract labor.

<="http://marketplace.org/">Marketplace.org calls the lawsuit "unprecedented." Here's why:

What is novel about this case (Carrillo v. Schneider Logistics) is that the workers don't work for Walmart directly. Rather, they’re part of a big, and growing, reservoir of low-wage contract workers, sometimes called "permatemps." This is the first time, the labor-lawyers say, that Walmart has been sued for work done by its contracted laborers. 

Now, the key legal question is going to be: Is it Walmart’s fault? Does Wal-mart call the shots in these contracted warehouses? 

“Walmart has the ultimate say in how the warehouse work will be conducted," says Michael Rubin, a plaintiff lawyer for the workers at the San Francisco law firm Altshuler Berzon. "The evidence shows a remarkable degree of control by Walmart. As a matter of economic reality, which is the ultimate legal test, Walmart should be held liable.” 

The Teamsters are supporting the lawsuit through <="http://www.warehouseworkersunited.org/">Warehouse Workers United, a campaign run by our <="http://www.changetowin.org/">Change To Win federation.

Stay tuned.