Can Wal-Mart Be Sued?

Question

I'll start off by saying that the state i live in (Arkansas) is a "Right To Work State". Also, i'm guessing that means that any employer can fire an employee for any reason, or they don't even have to have a reason.

Here's the problems

My mom has worked at Wal-Mart for over 3 years, and apparently she has done a great job cuz they kept her, put her on full time after hiring her part time. Well today, the managers called my mom into the office and told her that she is fired because apparently she was going into the break room and setting for 2 hours at a time. . . I will be the first one to stand up in an open court room, UNDER OATH, and swear that my mom would NEVER steal time from ANYONE. My mom is not a thief. Either, they have her mixed up with someone else, or they just didn't like her. . . In my honestly opinion, that is unlawful termination which is illegal. Is there anything my mother can do?

Answer 1

u wrote to much, but yes walmart can be sued and has been sued, they lost and won in court. do u feel lucky?

Answer 2

Ordinarily I would say you dont babysit your mom while she is at work and you really dont know.

However, Walmart has been known for wrongful loss of jobs.  I would persue it.  

But remember, pursueing it will take money, money I presume she doesnt have.

Answer 3

Wal-Mart has cameras. If your mom really didn't do it she could just ask to see the tapes, and if they can't show that she did it then they should hire her back. But I doubt they just pulled this out of their ***. In any case, if Arkansas is a right to work state, their is nothing legally that you can do unless you think she was fired because of her race, gender, and/or physical/mental disability.

Answer 4

But then there are cameras and other employees who MAY say just the opposite.  The evidence and the testimony of witnesses will have much more weight than yours.

Answer 5

Wal-mart gave your mother a reason why they fired her.  Because they gave her a reason, she might be able to prove that this was an unlawful termination.  BUT - Your mother has to be able to prove them wrong.  The entire burden of proof rests on her, and her alone.  Wal-mart doesn't have to prove ANYTHING.

Like the other answerer said, Wal-mart has security cameras all over the place.  The tapes from those cameras might be able to prove that she was on the sales floor during her assigned shift.  But she would have to get a lawyer pretty quick and request copies of the tapes, because stores like that don't keep their tapes for long.  She'll also need copies of her time cards, because basically Wal-mart is saying that she was in the break room while she was clocked in and being paid.  She needs the time cards and the video tapes to prove that she was on the floor during the time periods when she was clocked in.

Both of my brothers were Wal-mart managers for more than 10 years.  There isn't much likelihood that the manager has your mom mixed up with someone else - both my brothers knew their employees.  They didn't take someone else's word that an employee was in the break room for 2 hours or sitting outside with the trucks - they went and looked for themselves.  And they knew by name and by face everyone in their store so they knew who they saw shirking their job.

If your mom chooses to pursue this, she needs a good employment attorney, and she needs him NOW.  They need to get the tapes before they're used again (which might be in as little as a week or as much as a month), and they need the time cards or printouts.  They also need copies of the schedules for the days in question, and they need copies of the employee handbooks and policies/procedures manual.  Wal-mart doesn't fire someone without going through a big long process of writing them up, putting them on probation, yada yada yada.  So there's a good chance that if what your mother told you is true, her manager didn't follow their own internal policies - and that can add yet another plank to support her claim of a wrongful termination.  If a company has policies about counseling employees, writing them up, probation, etc, they have to follow those every time with every person unless the person has done something illegal.  

This isn't going to be easy and in the end, she could still lose.  No one can advise her on whether or not she has a case until she talks to a lawyer.  If there are details she hasn't shared with you, those could change everything.  

Answer 6

"Right to Work" means you can't force someone to be in a union.  But if Wal-Mart has proof of their accusation then it doesn't matter if AR is a "At Will" or "Just Cause" state.  You can call their bluff and sue but you better have $$.