Shame on Wal-Mart

LINK TO CNN STORY

Say what you will about big corporations, but, during the Sam Walton era, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and all the related entities were true American Dream companies. Sam Walton took care of his employees first and foremost. He knew that taking care of your workforce creates positive word of mouth, better productivity, and better customer service, which all added up to create an unprecedented corporate empire. Wal-Mart has a higher profit margin than some entire nations have in their economy.

They profit in the billions with or without "Black Friday," the legendary Day-after-Thanksgiving Shop-a-Thon. Wal-Mart could close their stores for the rest of 2008 and still rank in the top 20 highest-grossing companies in the world.

Yet, somehow, just over $200,000 could break the back of the largest company in the world.

Or, at least that’s what Wal-Mart’s attorneys would have us believe.

You see, in the fine, fine print in Wal-MArt’s benefit and health care plans, there is a clause that allows Wal-Mart to recoup part or all of the money paid out for health care costs if the injuries end up recieving some sort of settlement. For instance, let’s say a Wal-Mart employee slips and breaks their leg in McDonald’s. Wal-Mart’s health plan covers the costs of the treatment and rehab for the break. The employee recieves a judgement of a couple million for the injury, so McDonald’s pays the couple million to the employee. Wal-Mart then has a right to get part or all of the money paid for the broken leg out of that settlement. Okay, thats understandable. I get that. Minor to moderate injury, life goes on, Wal-Mart’s health plan shouldn’t be drained on an injury that ends up creating a profit for the employee. That makes sense.
Now, lets look at this situation.

Let’s meet Debbie Shank. A loyal Wal-Mart employee for several years. She was then hit by a semi in a horrific traffic accident. Her brain is severely damaged. She has no short term memory left. Her 18 year old son was killed in Iraq. Due to the lack of short term memory, every time she asks how her son is doing, its like hearing for the first time all over again that he is dead. Have you ever seen "50 First Dates" with Adam Sandler and Drew Berrymore? Yeah, its like that, only much more tragic.

After a settlement with the trucking company, Debbie Shank and her loving husband Jim were awarded $1 million. After legal fees, the couple only recieved $417,000. Since then, the couple has spent over $200,000 of that on her long-term care. She resides in a nursing home. Jim works two jobs and is recovering from prostate cancer. Jim even divorced her so she could get help from Medicare.

All the couple have left in her trust is approximately $200,000. Jim can barely keep up with the bills and her long-term care costs. Their youngest son is not going to be able to afford college as the couple had planned on allowing to happen. The family is at its breaking point. They have suffered so much.

Yet, Wal-Mart might not make it through the year fiscally if they don’t recoup the costs of Debbie’s care. Wal-Mart paid approximately $470,000 for Debbie’s care after the accident, before cutting her off. Since several appeals have failed, Wal-Mart can come in any day now and drain the bank accounts of the Shanks to recoup as much as possible of that $470,000.

For a company that posted third quarter earnings of $90 BILLION at the end of 2007, you would think that in the interest of a family going through so much, half a million could be written off, right? Let these people suffer in peace, right? Wal-Mart could find other ways to recoup that $470,000, right? Maybe put a jar in every store to ask for loose change for Debbie Shank? Oh, wait, that would take away from the Children’s Miracle Network, where they take your loose change and then write it off as a deduction as if the store is donating the money, and not the customers.

If Sam Walton were alive today, he could be sickened to his core about how his children are operating his legacy. Sam might have asked the Shanks to give back to the fund, but he would have sent a check out of his pocket, if need be, to help them out.

Shame on you, Wal-Mart. Shame on you.

(After all the media attention and a lot of pressure from media and stockholders, Wal-Mart finally caved and dropped the suit.)