Wal-Mart announces settlement of immigration investigation, and 15 percent increase in annual...

Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark., has resolved on a civil basis the Department of Justice's more than four-year-long investigation into the employment practices of its former floor-cleaning contractors. The agreement came after the government concluded its criminal investigation and announced it would not pursue charges against Wal-Mart or any Wal-Mart associates. As part of the civil settlement, Wal-Mart has agreed to support the fair enforcement of immigration laws, including making a payment of $11 million to the government. "The government can now use the funds for training and other initiatives that lead to better detection and prosecution of individuals and companies that prey on undocumented individuals," said Tom Mars, Wal-Mart's general counsel. Mars further stated, "Today we are acknowledging that our compliance program did not include all the procedures necessary to identify independent floor cleaning contractors who did not comply with federal immigration laws. We will use this as an opportunity to improve and be a better, more tightly run business as a result." While the civil consent decree and settlement documents stated that immigration officials found that independent floor cleaning contractors at various Wal-Mart stores had hired, recruited and employed undocumented workers, it also stated that "Wal-Mart did not have knowledge [of this practice], at the time the independent contractors initially were hired." In other news, Wal-Mart announced an annual dividend of 60 cents a share, a 15.4 percent increase over the previous fiscal year. Based on this increase, the company plans to return more than $2.5 billion to its sharebholders in the form of dividends this fiscal year.