"Wal-Mart Bills" Focus on Getting Workers Off Government Aid
"Wal-Mart - The high cost of low price", a film by Robert Greenwald has sparked outrage in many communities against Wal-Mart. In our law firm, we have seen first hand how Wal-Mart poorly treats their employees when they are injured. The bottom line is companies need to act responsibly. Lawmakers have presented a bill that addresses the issue of companies taking advantage of government assistance instead of providing adequate benefits for their employees. WILG (Worker's Injury Law and Advocacy Group) newsletter recently issued the following article. Sorry there was no electronic version.
Who pays the tab for low benefits paid by Wal-Mart? We all do. That question is at the core of laws being proposed throughout the nation that require Wal-Mart of pay a percentage of its payroll on health benefits or make a contribution to the State's health programs for low income families.Wal-Mart says 5% of its 1.3 million U.S. employees receive Medicare and 27% of its employees' children get healthcare through Medicaid or affiliated programs.
Maryland Law
Unions and activists say that more than 30 states are considering variations on a law recently passed in Maryland. That law requires companies (such as Wal-Mart) with more than 10,000 employees in the state to spend at least 8% of their payroll on employee health benefits or to make a similar contribution to the state's health program for low income persons/families. Many states have the latter types of programs (Wisconsin, for example, has a program called BadgerCare, many of whose recipients are Wal-Mart employees or members of their families).
Wisconsin Proposal
In most states, the bills being proposed are given little chance of becoming law. For example, hearings were held on Wisconsin's version, but the bill is all but dead in committee. Wisconsin democratic governor Jim Doyle has proposed his own version, a considerably more limited one, and singled out Wal-Mart in his State of the State Address in January. "Wal-Mart is one of the most profitable companies in the world, yet it has more than 1,200 employees and dependents on BadgerCare - far more than any other company in the State, and Wisconsin taxpayers are picking up the tab."
The governor's proposal would fine companies with 10,000 or more employees that have dumped employees into Medicaid and BadgerCare by cutting back on healthcare benefits. The "Wal-Mart bills" referred to above seem to have stemmed from the public outcry over the movie, Wal-Mart - the High Cost of Low Price.
Reprinted with permission from WILG