Wal-Mart Promises Safety Improvements Following Black Friday Death
Wal-Mart will pay $1.4 million to Nassau County's social services and
$400,000 to create a victims' fund over last year's Black Friday death at a Wal-Mart store. By doing this Wal-Mart also avoids felony charges in the Black Friday stampede case. The retailer also promised to improve safety oversight to help prevent further tragedies as shoppers rush to get advertised bargains.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Wednesday the retailer will donate $1.5 million to the county's social services, create a $400,000 victims' fund and devise an independently approved crowd management plan for post-Thanksgiving sales at its 92 New York stores.
Rice, who suspended the criminal investigation of the stampede as a condition of the agreement, said Wal-Mart would have faced a maximum fine of $10,000 had it been convicted of a felony. The retailer made no admission of guilt.
Prosecutors can reopen the case if the company fails to comply with the terms of the agreement in the next three years.
"Rather than bringing the world's largest retailer to court and imposing a small fine against them, I felt it was important to require significant safety changes that will affect the whole state," Rice said.
Hank Mullany, Wal-Mart's northeast division president, said, "We are saddened by the tragic event that occurred at our Valley Stream store last year. We are committed to learning from it and making our stores even safer for our customers. Today is an important step."
The family of Jdimytai Damour is unhappy with the terms of the settlement. They wanted criminal charges for Wal-Mart.
For the next Black Friday, Wal-mart and other discounters need to hire outside security, require orderly lines to form outside the store and should monitor how many people can enter the store at once. This worker's death is a tragedy should never be repeated.
