Wal-Mart: Just a Great Place to Work

This reprinted from the Hartford Courant by Cookie Jill at the excellent Chateau d' Kangaroo (or Skippy's for you non Freedom speakers):

the state [Connecticut] is paying an estimated $43 million annually for health care insurance to cover workers at the top 25 major employers, led by wal-mart, officials said thursday.

nearly half of the estimated total covers the top five employers, including highly profitable, well-known companies that operate franchises in connecticut, including stop & shop, dunkin' donuts and mcdonald's.

...some legislators were outraged that the state is helping to provide health insurance for profitable companies, particularly wal-mart. "here is the richest retail company in the world, and we, the taxpayers, are subsidizing their coverage," said house majority leader christopher donovan, a meriden democrat. "i think people aren't aware of the extent that we're subsidizing the biggest, richest, most powerful companies. wal-mart shoppers need to know there's an extra cost of doing business."

.... a congressional report last year found that wal-mart had increased the health-benefit waiting period for full-time workers. in 2002, the waiting period jumped from 90 days to six months. by comparison, the report found, the average waiting period for employers the size of wal-mart was 1.3 months.

the report also found that wal-mart changed the definition of part-time in 2002, raising it to 34 hours or fewer a week, up from 28 hours or fewer - a stricter definition than many companies. part-time workers must wait two years to apply for health coverage and they cannot add a spouse or children.