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By Kevin Livingston

Jan. 8— Thousands of Czechs are lured to the United States each year in the pursuit of Western-style pay. Many end up laboring seven days a week, 365 days a year, without overtime, benefits or — sometimes — any pay at all.

Now an American attorney wants to give Czech workers a chance to fight back against the global retail giant that he claims knowingly takes advantage of illegal immigrants.

Using a US law originally designed to put Mafia bosses behind bars, New York lawyer James Linsey filed a class-action lawsuit Nov. 10 in US Federal District Court in New Jersey on behalf of Czech citizens and others allegedly employed illegally and underpaid by Wal-Mart.

“Wal-Mart knows this is going on... It is one step away from slavery.”

Linsey, who traveled to Prague in the first week of January to interview potential clients, accuses the retail chain of conspiring with cleaning contractors to knowingly hire undocumented workers as janitors for its 3,500 US stores, thereby avoiding wage and benefits laws.

By doing so, Linsey says, the company violated the 1970 US Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a law designed to target organized crime.

The civil suit parallels, and was triggered by, a US criminal case against Wal-Mart. On Oct. 23, federal agents raided 61 stores across the United States, arresting more than 250 illegal immigrants, including many from the Czech Republic.

Wal-Mart has yet to file a reply to the civil class action. David Murray, Wal-Mart’s Washington, DC, attorney, did not return a call for comment. Wal-Mart in the past has denied any wrongdoing.

If successful, Linsey’s case on behalf of workers from several countries could have drastic ramifications for how American corporations do business and could cost the world’s largest company millions in back pay and punitive damages. The case could also serve to put a dent in what is thought to be a highly organized trade in illegal workers in the Czech Republic.

“At first blush people might think it’s Mexicans,” Linsey said of the illegal workers employed by Wal-Mart. “The majority are from Eastern European nations.”

Linsey’s suit hinges on proving what he and federal prosecutors have described as a “layering” structure, by which a company can distance itself from the hiring of illegal workers: Because they contracted out cleaning work, Linsey said, Wal-Mart management can deny they knew they were hiring illegal immigrants.

“The key to racketeering is credible deniability,” he said. “The people at the top can say, ‘I didn’t know.’”

Linsey noted that the illegal workers, many of whom did not speak English, were under the direct supervision of Wal-Mart personnel.

“Wal-Mart is aware or should reasonably have known of the systematic violation of immigration law by the contractor defendants,” he wrote in his filing to the court.

He added that Wal-Mart essentially functioned as a joint employer, checking work, issuing orders and implementing standards for the janitorial crews. “Wal-Mart knows this is going on,” he said. “It’s pandemic throughout the Wal-Mart system.”

Linsey said another problem with the layering structure is it leaves little money left over to pay the workers. “What happens with the layering structure is everyone takes their cut. By the time [that happens] there is no money to pay the people.”

Because most workers pay an agency between $1,000 and $3,000 (26,000 and 78,000 Kc) for the chance to work in the United States, he said, many don’t get paid at all. “It is one step away from slavery,” Linsey said. “In some instances it is slavery.”

The high number of Czechs allegedly working illegally for Wal-Mart and other US companies has not been lost on the Czech Embassy in Washington, DC, which has warned people not to take illegal employment in America.

It is also why Linsey chose Prague as his first stop to seek out potential claimants. Since he landed in the city on New Year’s Eve, Linsey said, several potential defendants have contacted him. He said he expects to end up representing 20 or more former Wal-Mart workers living here.

He added that the potential payback could be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

“We are seeking clients not just in the Czech Republic but also Czech citizens in the United States,” Linsey said. “People are starting to surface.”

Source: The Prague Post