In 1996 I suffered a back injury at a Sam's Club/Wal-Mart. A member of management was present and witnessed the accident. It is now five years later and I have still not been provided with a doctor for the treatment of injury, provided "TTD" (total temporary disability payments) suffered through five years of continuances filed by Wal-Mart attorneys and so far denied my rights to a speedy trial or hearing before the workers
compensation board.
Wal-Mart is not self-insured in my state with regard to workers compensation and must provide an insurance carrier for liability. Yet in the five years since the injury, they have provided names of 4 different companies including CMI which is a Wal-Mart entity.
As a previous reporter to your website stated, hiring an attorney to "compentently" represent you is nearly impossible. Wal-Mart's resources, policies and determination to "Not settle Lawsuits" kills most of its potential opponents.
Their refusal to abide by the wc code of my particular state and the refusal of my state to protect my rights through prosecution of WMT for non-compliance is a true conspiracy.
When I contacted the governor's office and the wc board their response was to ignore this "errors" because any WMT is so big that any fines levied would be of no consequence to WMT and they probably wouldn't pay it either.
An acquaintance filed a claim and was sent in for a drug test which naturally went to the home office in Bentonville never to surface in the "outside world". The result was "positive" but she never knew positive to what. Besides WMT has a contract Smith-Beecham-Kline laboratories to do all their drug testing and since WMT "accompanies" you to their testing site with their testing kit, you never know what you are being tested for and
if the test results do in fact exist. That is just the beginning.
Once you take an issue outside the company, you are, in my opinion, subjected to harrassment, retaliation, slander and termination. While still on a company approved leave of absence while awaiting an opportunity to present my evidence of lack of diligence, bad faith and contempt for the law, they terminated my employment while claiming late payment of group insurance
premiums thus denying me COBRA rights.
A $400 insurance payment was reimbursed to me 4 mos. Later. But still they refuse to reverse their decision to cancel my ins., pay for a precertified hospitalization for chest pains, cancel my life insurance and issue an early distribution of
profit sharing resulting in a penalty for not completing vesting (I actually completed the time of 7 yrs. But because I was on wc medical leave of absence the last year didn't count).
I always was assessed a penalty from the IRS for not rolling over - I desperately needed the money to save my house, buy prescription medication no longer provided through group health and pay living expenses because as you will remember WMT is
not paying disability. They continue to place mgmt. Dogs on my tail each and every time I enter the warehouse.
I will not give up as long as I can draw a breath which might not be much longer due to the lack of treatment of heart problems. The judge at the last hearing date had to issue
another continuance because WMT's attorney notified me in writing of a continuance by the administrative judge when in fact the judge had not issued a continuance. Because of the notification I did not take necessary documents and eye witnesses to that pre-trial conference and was unprepared to try the case that day. The bar assoc. Has been contacted and a complaint is pending.
My advice to anyone who is having employment problems is don't give up. Document everything. I know that WMT won't respond in writing to anyone not even the legal system but try recording any and all phone conversations (be sure to inform them that you are recording).
Try to get written statements from fellow employees, past and present. Don't take for granted anything that WMT says to you. I had conversations with the legal dept. At WMT and they denied being a part of WMT. (Leigh Ann, an assistant to Ann Cato now with CMI legal but then with corporate legal).
They will give you, in my opinion, false and misleading info. On any and all issues. Research, research, research. There is a law firm in Ohio who is seeking employees with regard to "alterations" of time clock reports robbing employees of compensation for time worked. The firm is Garfalo, something, something, something. Try locating them. Check the law, don't assume WMT will give you an answer reflective of your rights
outside their compound. When they say something like "we will contact workers compensation for you" be sure they specifically define who's workers compensation they are referring to. The one set up to protect them or the one set up by the law to protect you. Get specific names, telephone numbers or i.D.'s and written verification of everything you can. The employees will give you a generic name to contact them back at and then when you do they will say they don't know which one you mean.
I am seeking extremely competent legal representation who is willing to go up against a giant like WMT with regard to both wc and insurance fraud.
Any advice or leads anyone might offer would be greatly and I do mean greatly appreciated.
Good Luck and God Bless!
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IW6-18
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