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Did Walmart Close Stores to Retaliate Against Employees?

The union acting on behalf of fired Walmart workers in five states filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board accusing the retailer of retaliating against workers organizing for better pay and benefits.

The union acting on behalf of fired Walmart workers in five states filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board accusing the retailer of retaliating against workers organizing for better pay and benefits. Ken Wolter / Shutterstock.com

A union acting on behalf of Walmart employees in four states has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accusing the retailer of closing stores to retaliate against those who attempted to organize for better pay and benefits.

Walmart abruptly closed five stores in California, Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida, laying off more than 2,200 workers, citing plumbing issues at all locations and claiming the closures were temporary. The NRLB claim filed Monday by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union alleges the closings were in retaliation for a history of labor organizing at the retailer’s Pico Rivera, California, store.

That store was among the five closed for purported plumbing problems, and was the the site of the first strike at a Walmart store in the United States.

“We don’t believe there is any basis for an injunction,” the retailer said in response to the NLRB filing.

The claim asks the NLRB for an injunction compelling Walmart to immediately rehire all 2,200 laid-off workers across the five stores, either by re-opening the stores or transferring the workers to other stores without a loss of pay.

Fired workers had only several hours’ notice that their stores were closing, according to reports.

Claims like the one filed by the union can take several months to work through the administrative process. First an agency regional director will investigate the allegations before deciding whether to move forward in federal court for an injunction, while the case continues on to an NLRB administrative law judge.

Walmart recently made headlines for raising its minimum wage to $9 an hour, beginning in April, and $10 an hour starting in 2016 for employees who have finished a six-month training period. But those wage increases are not enough to keep many Walmart workers off Medicaid and government food assistance.

Walmart faces a potential class action lawsuit in California over allegations the retailer intentionally misclassified workers to avoid overtime pay. It’s not the first time Walmart has been accused of stealing from its employees.

Walmart in 2013 faced allegations that it forced workers to skip meal breaks, while in 2014 a Pennsylvania court ordered Walmart to pay $151 million in back wages to nearly 200,000 current and former employees who claimed the company made them work off the clock and during breaks.