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Wal-Mart janitors' lawsuit refiled with conspiracy complaint

By MARCUS KABEL
Associated Press Writer

November 21, 2005, 6:16 PM EST

Lawyers seeking class-action status for illegal immigrants who worked as Wal-Mart janitors amended their lawsuit Monday to include newly released information from a federal probe that, the lawyers say, shows Wal-Mart conspired with contractors to use cheap undocumented labor.

The lawsuit seeks overtime pay and other damages from Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. A federal judge in New Jersey last month allowed the lawsuit to proceed but dismissed an allegation that the world's largest retailer violated federal racketeering laws.

The amended complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J., seeks to reinstate the conspiracy charge by using information from a 2003 affidavit filed by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that was unsealed this month at the request of New York attorney James L. Linsey, who represents more than 200 former janitors in the civil lawsuit.

In the affidavit, investigators said testimony and taped conversations from 2003 showed two executives at Wal-Mart headquarters knew that contractors and subcontractors cleaning its stores in several states employed illegal immigrants from eastern Europe and elsewhere.

The amended lawsuit alleges the affidavit and additional information from a former contractor show that Wal-Mart executives conspired with several contractors to hire illegal immigrants who were paid $1,500 a month or less to clean Wal-Mart stores seven days a week _ with no overtime or benefits.

Wal-Mart did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Wal-Mart previously said there was no incriminating evidence in the newly released affidavit and said no company senior official had any direct knowledge that undocumented workers were working in its stores.

Last May, Wal-Mart agreed to pay an $11 million civil fine to end a federal probe into the use of illegal immigrants at stores in 21 states, including New Jersey.