It’s not news to anyone that the Corona Virus is sweeping the nation and peoples lives everywhere are changing dramatically. So dramatically that people have lost jobs, their sense for security and even loved ones. This was the case with Wando Evans, a fifty-one year old Walmart worker who was found dead in his apartment on March 25. Mr Evans tested positive for the deadly virus COVID-19 and many are wondering if his death could have been avoided. Mr Evans family is suing Walmart on the basis of wrongful death with other allegations aw well.
Mr Evans was one of two individuals that have suffered fatality from the deadly virus from the same store. His family has filed a lawsuit of wrongful death against Walmart after they realized that other employees had contracted the virus and were still showing up to work. Mr Evans family believes his death could have been avoided and was disappointed with the lack of Walmart’s precautions to the virus.
Due to the new regulation imposed by the US government to “Flatten the Curve”, people across the country have lost employment. Establishments such as bars, restaurant and sporting events have been closed or canceled. Yet other workers have been named essential and their regular work days have continued amid the deadly virus. These essential workers include, EMT’s, Healthcare workers, Police and Fire Personnel and retail workers.
Walmart has been at the bad end of many unethical situations and this story put Walmart in bad lighting yet again. Over the years, Walmart has been on the front page of controversial issues such as the usage of child in foreign countries to allegations of corruption in many other countries. According to Mr Evans family, Mr Evans had reported his ill conditions to his superior but his manager continued to scheduled Mr Evans. For fear of losing his job, Mr Evans continued to report to work and on March 25th was found dead inside his home.
This event truly boils down to the value of an employees life. On one hand, our country is facing the worst pandemic since the influenza pandemic in 1918. With a virus so contagious and deadly, certain restrictions have been put in place to limit the spread of the virus. On the other hand, these same restrictions are crippling our economy. With many bars, restaurateur and main areas of entertainment being shut down, people are losing their jobs and their ability to make ends meet.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html
Armando's Blogg 
As saddening that it is that the people working at Walmart and other “essential” businesses are put at a significantly higher risk than the rest of us at home in quarantine, they are the real heroes. Without the people working at grocery stores and hospitals, there would be a much higher death rate due to a lack of resources like food and health care. I do agree that people who pose a higher risk such as the elderly or immunocompromised should be pardoned from work though, and companies like Walmart should honor that.
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I believe that some of these corporations did not have a contingency plan for these types of situations. We saw how slow they were to protect their workers and the secrecy that was kept when an employee told his supervisor about his conditions. As an ‘essential worker’ myself, I never second guessed going into work. But for being Naive i put myself, my family and friends at risk. However that’s a risk i have to take because these bills don’t suddenly stop and food isn’t falling from the sky.
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This story breaks my heart, as I know it could be the same fate as many other retail workers, like you mentioned. I can attest that Walmart already gave little to no care for their employees before the virus, my father worked there for a short period of time after being unemployed. He stated that he made more money being unemployed, and that his 3am-12pm shift was grueling for anyone over the age of thirty, let alone a 55 year old man. I am intrigued to see your further exploration on the company, and how COVID is affecting the global economy more than we’ve already seen.
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I cant imagine people from earlier generations working for Walmart under such conditions. But I don’t imagine Walmart seeming to care about who they are hiring. As i said before, it seems that people are just a number to Walmart. I feel sorry for those who have to work those hours and I wonder if there is a law that prevents these large corporations from exploring workers under these conditions.
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Definitely agree that Walmart is often the face of bad business ethics and especially in regards to one of their most important stakeholders (employees). We’re all essential people and as employees we definitely would like to be seen as a person rather than a number. I often have heard horror stories about working for Walmart ranging from how they do everything possible to make sure you can’t earn overtime to letting people go if you can’t make it to work one day despite being a stellar employee. Disappointing to say the least.
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Many of these large companies are the same as well. I’ve heard horror stories about Amazon and how employees work 16 days in some instances. Some people can manage these long hours and stressful conditions, but not everyone is able to keep up. I don’t believe we should be sacrificing human lives to make a profit. The other side of the coin includes where do employees go when their superiors don’t listen to them. This is especially stressful for people who live paycheck to paycheck and depend heavily on their jobs. These are just the stories that are reported and who knows how many situations go unreported.
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It really does break my heart to see how Walmart and other essential workers are being treated during this pandemic. They are going to work every day, being away from their families, risking their lives, just so customers can buy their groceries. It’s sad that Walmart overlooked their employees’ safety and health before this and still, during such a scary time like this. It’s crazy that people who are unemployed during this time (because their employer shut down) probably are getting paid more to sit on their couch, than essential employees who volunteer to risk their health/life in order to serve their community. Yet, they still have to deal with customer’s impatience and rude attitudes, and unappreciative managers.
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