Wal-Mart Locked-In Employees

From Everyday Low Wages:  The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart – A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce, US House of Representatives, Representative George Miller (D-CA), Senior Democrat (February 16, 2004):

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is designed to protect workers from workplace injuries and illnesses. OSHA is enforced by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Regulations issued by that agency lay out clear rules for such safety matters as the provision of exits for employees.

The latest Wal-Mart scandal to hit the news is its reported lockdown of its nighttime shift various stores around the country. According to a January 18, 2004, New York Times report, the company institutes a “lock-in” policy at some of its Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. The stores lock their doors at night so that no one can enter or leave the building, leaving workers inside trapped. Some workers are then threatened that, if they ever use the fire exit to leave the building, they will be fired. Instead, a manager is supposed to have a key that will unlock doors to allow employees to escape. Many workers have found themselves locked in without a manager who has a key, as the New York Times story detailed.

The company has claimed that the policy is designed to protect stores and employees from crime. Former store managers, however, have claimed the real reason behind the lockdown is to prevent “shrinkage” – i.e., theft by either employees or outsiders. It is also designed to eliminate unauthorized cigarette breaks or quick trips home.

Locked-in workers have had to wait for hours off-the-clock for a manager to show up to let them go home after they completed their shift. One worker claims to have broken his foot on the job and had to wait four hours for someone to open the door. Another worker alleges she cut her hand with box cutters one night and was forced to wait until morning to go to the hospital, where she received thirteen stitches.

In the history of American worker safety, some of the worst tragedies have involved employees locked in their workplaces in an emergency, including the Triangle Waist Company fire of 1911 in which 146 women died in a fire because the garment factory’s doors were locked. As recently as 1991, 25 workers perished in a fire at a chicken processing plant in North Carolina. The plant’s owner had locked the doors for fear of employee theft and unauthorized breaks. According to recent reports, ten percent of Wal-Mart’s stores are subjected to the nighttime lockdown.

If you or a loved one has been seriously hurt while on the job, the attorneys at Law Offices of Jerry Neil Paul can help. Contact us for a free consultation with an experienced attorney.