Wal-Mart Receives Target Letter From U.S.
Posted on: Tuesday, 4 November 2003, 06:00 CST
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Tuesday it has received a "target letter" from the U.S. Attorney's Office saying the world's largest retailer allegedly violated federal immigration laws.
"The company is the target," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mona Williams said. She said company executives are not the subject of the inquiry.
On Oct. 23, federal agents arrested about 250 allegedly illegal workers in a 21-state sweep of Wal-Mart stores. The raids focused on floor cleaners employed by companies Wal-Mart hired for the work. Ten of those arrested were Wal-Mart employees hired as the company moved to bring its floor cleaning in-house.
Wal-Mart received the letter Friday, Williams said, adding the grand jury will look at whether the company "violated federal immigration laws in connection with the use of third-party floor cleaning contractors."
"Wal-Mart was not surprised by this formal notification since it is in keeping with comments made by federal officials after the raids," Williams said.
Federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania are handling the case.
Wal-Mart expects the grand jury to begin its hearing in mid-December, Williams said. "This notification gives us time to provide the U.S. Attorney's Office information we feel supports our position."
Shares in Wal-Mart fell 34 cents to $58.70 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Wal-Mart says it pledged its cooperation since it first learned of the raids. That day, the company instructed store managers to preserve any relevant records. It also has said it would review all of its domestic employees - more than 1 million people - to ensure each has legal status.
"We do not know if the grand jury hearings will result in any indictments, however we are in ongoing talks with the U.S. Attorney's Office and are confident we will have the opportunity for full and complete discussion before any decisions are made," Williams said.
After the sweep, the workers were taken to local immigration offices. Some were released, but those with criminal records were detained, authorities said. The workers came from 18 nations.
Arrests were made in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
Wal-Mart had sales last year of $244.5 billion. The company has 1,494 discount stores, 1,386 Supercenters, 532 Sam's Clubs and 56 Neighborhood Markets in the United States. It employs about 1.1 million people in the United States and 300,000 in other countries.
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