Wal-Mart faces a collective action lawsuit by exploited undocumented workers:

A collective action on behalf of undocumented workers performing cleaning services who were arrested in a 2003 immigration raid of Wal-Mart stores was approved by a federal judge in New York Dec. 29 (Zavala v. Wal-Mart Stores, D.N.J., No. 03-5309, 12/29/04). Approving the conditional certification of an overtime and minimum wage claim brought by 17 named plaintiffs, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey said the plaintiffs could send a notice to thousands of janitors who worked for Wal-Mart contractors performing cleaning services throughout the United States. Judge Joseph A. Greenway Jr. limited the collective action to Wal-Mart employees and refused to expand the class to the company's Sam's Club operations. The ruling on the FLSA claims was the first in what is expected to be a series of rulings resulting from a November 2003 lawsuit filed on behalf of undocumented workers who performed cleaning services for Wal-Mart and who were arrested in the Homeland Security Department's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids of 21 of the chain's stores. The workers also have filed claims alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1871 (42 U.S.C. § 1985(3)), and New Jersey's wage and hour and anti-discrimination laws. The workers named in the suit--who are residents of Mexico, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia--charged that they worked at least 60 hours per week without overtime, workers' compensation coverage or health insurance benefits, sick leave, or disability benefits. The workers claimed they earned between $350 and $500 a week...The workers allege a fraudulent scheme by Wal-Mart and its maintenance contractors across the United States, including stores in New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, and Texas, to use undocumented workers to provide janitorial and cleaning services. The original complaint alleged workers were "locked-in" to stores overnight to perform cleaning services. In certifying the collective action, the court said Wal-Mart was required to produce the names, addresses, and nationalities of all former and current janitors who have performed work under contract with Wal-Mart since January 2000, as well as copies of the agreements with contractors.