IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2009

CONTACT: Meghan Scott
(202) 721-8014


WALMART CITED BY OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

WakeUpWalmart.com calls on Walmart to take responsibility for Jdimytai Damour’s Death and do the right thing

Washington, DC – Today, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a citation against Walmart in the trampling death of Jdimytai Damour. The temporary employee was crushed by customers in a rush to get to deals on “Black Friday” at a store in Long Island, New York. OSHA is fining Walmart $7,000 for “inadequate crowd management.”

Meghan Scott, Director of WakeUpWalmart.com, released the following statement:

"This citation and fine from OHSA is important because it shows that Walmart could have prevented this death, but did not. Walmart had a responsibility to ensure its workers were safe, but instead put profits ahead of people, and failed its employees, and its customers. The fine and citation are a penalty, but it’s simply the cost of doing business for Walmart. Based on figures from Walmart's most recent annual report, Walmart stores in the U.S. had $255.745 billion in sales in 2008. The average U.S. Walmart had more than $7,000 in sales per hour in 2008. OSHA’s serious citation is an acknowledgement that Walmart was responsible for this tragic death, but a fine of one hour’s worth of sales is not enough.

“Walmart must ensure that a tragedy like this never happens to another family. America’s #1 private employer has an obligation provide a safe work environment for all employees across the country.”


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