Temp workers at Wal-Mart warehouse file Class Action over denied benefits
Simos Insourcing workers fight to make their employer follow the law
Workers from the temporary staffing agency, Simos Insourcing Solutions, which staffs the Wal-mart warehouse in Elwood, Illinois, alleged in a lawsuit filed in Will County Circuit Court today that they have been denied benefits that they were promised when they were hired to work at the warehouse. Several warehouse workers employed by the agency approached Warehouse Workers for Justice for assistance when they discovered the discrepancies.
“Simos promised me that I would earn vacation pay while I worked there, but apparently that was an empty promise,†said Willie Jones, one of the lead Plaintiffs.
In addition, the lawsuit alleges that Simos required employees to incur fees to get their paychecks and failed to give the warehouse workers critical information about their pay, benefits and other terms of their employment as required by Illinois law. The lawsuit was filed as a class action.
This is the second class action suit filed on behalf of workers at the Wal-mart warehouse this year. In March workers at Reliable Staffing Group filed suit alleging unpaid wages and other violations of the law.
The workers have joined in delegations of warehouse workers who have been going to Springfield to demand fair wages and an end to the perma-temp system in Will County warehouses. Â A report released last year by Warehouse Workers for Justice showed that 63% of workers in Will County warehouses are temps, earning poverty wages with few benefits.
Warehouse Workers for Justice is a worker-led organization working to turn warehouse jobs in the Chicago region into good, living wage permanent jobs.
