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Wal-Mart's child labor
violations get U.S. politicians on the move
The recent disclosure of a sweetheart deal between Wal-Mart and the U.S. Labor Department continues to engage leading politicians. The two Connecticut Senators Joe Lieberman (D-Conn) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) are now asking Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to explain and justify the deal with Wal-Mart. They point out that the 15 day warning period granted by the Labor Department before conducting child labor inspections in Wal-Mart stores would give the employer a chance to see that child workers just not perform any dangerous tasks that very day. U.S. Representative Rosa de Lauro (D-Conn) agrees with the two Senators from her home state. In a letter to the Labor Secretary, she calls for repealing the agreement which gives Wal-Mart a 15 day notice. This gives them the possibility to cover up any evidence, she says. According to NBC30 news, Wal-Mart has apparently violated the child labor legislation in 25 2tores in Arkansas, Connecticut and New Hampshire, involving 85 teenage workers. Connecticut in uproar Connecticut, which is one of the states where Wal-Mart was caught for letting young workers operate dangerous equipment such as chain saws, scrap paper balers and fork lifts, is in uproar about the company's sweetheart agreement with the George W. Bush government. State Representative Roberta Willis (D) has also sent a letter to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, criticising the 15 day notice period. - As part of the agreement with Wal-Mart, she gave them a fine. For Wal-Mart, that's pocket change. On top of that, which was really why I wrote her the letter, was this 15-day notification before somebody from the Department of Labor goes out for an inspection... you'd never find any violations that way, Rep. Roberta Willis says to the Register Citizen. State authorities investigate Also the State authorities in Connecticut are now acting on the Wal-Mart scandal. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has launched an investigation of the violations in the state. - We've sent investigators and auditors to Wal-Mart stores and are pursuing legislative initiatives, he said to the Register Citizen. Recently, UNI Commerce affiliate UFCW and the Child Labor Coalition presented an initiative which would put an immediate end to Wal-Mart's use of child labor for dangerous tasks. This would be done by a distinctive employee badge to identify young workers, combined with unannounced Labor Department inspections. The proposal, which received the immediate support of Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass) and U.S. Representative George Miller (D-Calif), has not yet been responded to by the government.
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