DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- Wal-Mart brainwashes its employees into working overtime without pay, former workers claim in a class-action lawsuit filed in Clinton County District Court.
The lawsuit, filed by former employees of the Wal-Mart in Clinton, seeks lost pay and other damages on behalf of all Wal-Mart employees in Iowa.
"You bet it's about the money," said Taylor Vogue of Camanche, one of the plaintiffs. "It's about the money, in respect that I just want to recover all the unpaid wages to the former and present employees."
'BRAINWASHED'
Vogue and Sally Mussmann of Clinton liken Wal-Mart to a cult, and in the lawsuit they claim employees are "brainwashed to work mindlessly for mother Wal-Mart."
"Employees are told to be 'team players' and give up earned wages for mother Wal-Mart," the lawsuit states.
OVERTIME WORK
The lawsuit alleges that Wal-Mart gives employees work assignments that are impossible to complete within scheduled hours and then pressures workers to complete them anyway.
Wal-Mart officials dispute the claims.
Bill Wertz, corporate spokesman for Wal-Mart, said the company does not expect employees to work without pay for any reason. The company holds this as "strict policy," he said.
"The allegations here are completely contrary to Wal-Mart policy," Wertz said. "This is an issue Wal-Mart feels strongly about."