Wal-Mart’s ‘privileged position’

Here’s a story in which the headline and lede only tell a small part of a bigger controversy.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that Wal-Mart had agreed to pay a fine in a series of child-labor law violations.

Wal-Mart Stores, the nation’s largest retailer, has agreed to pay $135,540 to settle federal charges that it violated child labor laws in Connecticut, Arkansas and New Hampshire.

Labor Department officials said most of the 24 violations covered by the settlement involved workers under age 18 operating dangerous machinery, including cardboard balers and chain saws. In the agreement, Wal-Mart denied any wrongdoing.

So far, fine. Wal-Mart had kids working heavy machinery, among other problems, and got caught. Federal investigators struck a pretty common deal: company pays fine, complaint gets dropped, company admits no guilt.

But the Labor Department’s “arrangement” with Wal-Mart went well beyond the norm.

The Labor Department and Wal-Mart signed the agreement on Jan. 6, but made no public announcement. The department disclosed the settlement yesterday after a reporter questioned officials about concerns raised by several department employees that the agreement gave Wal-Mart special favors…

A provision also promises to give Wal-Mart 15 days’ notice before the Labor Department investigates any other “wage and hour” accusations, like failure to pay minimum wage or overtime.

This is ridiculous.

A corporate behemoth like Wal-Mart, which has generously donated to Republicans in recent election cycles, got caught violating child-labor laws. In fact, the company is a repeat offender, with instances dating back several years, and with complaints ranging from the company’s penchant for having minors operate heavy machines, to working extended hours, to accepting less pay. In response, Bush’s Labor Department quietly told the company that from now on, they’ll get plenty of lead-time before investigators knock on their door?

A Labor Department investigator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, told the Times this kind of “deal” doesn’t make any sense.

“With child labor cases involving the use of hazardous machinery, why give 15 days’ notice before we can do an investigation?” asked a district office supervisor who has worked in the wage and hour division for nearly 20 years. “What’s the rationale?”

And while Bush’s Labor Department said this arrangement was par for the course, other former officials know better.

John R. Fraser, the government’s top wage official under the first President Bush and President Bill Clinton, said the advance-notice provision was unusually expansive.

“Giving the company 15 days’ notice of any investigation is very unusual,” Mr. Fraser said. “The language appears to go beyond child labor allegations and cover all wage and hour allegations. It appears to put Wal-Mart in a privileged position that to my knowledge no other employer has.”

The Bush administration. Always low standards. Always.