Some workers leave T.J. Maxx jobs after company seeks documents

WHAS 11 ^ | 11/23/2003 | Associated Press

[yonif]

More than 200 workers at a T.J. Maxx distribution center in southern Indiana have walked away from their jobs since the company asked to see immigration documents to determine whether employees were working legally in the United States.

Problems with undocumented workers began surfacing at the plant after the company, owned by The TJX Companies Inc. of Framingham, Mass., hired a consultant to check on the immigrant status of workers. The company has five distribution centers and 41,500 employees nationwide.

The check found discrepancies in the documentation of 261 workers at the company's distribution center in Evansville, which employs about 1,700.

Beginning Nov. 6, T.J. Maxx asked workers to produce documents showing they were working in this country legally or risk being fired. Almost immediately, some workers left their jobs.

Company officials have refused to comment.

"We have dealt with this situation in an appropriate manner," company spokeswoman Sherry Lang said, declining to elaborate.

Union officials have also declined to comment. Local 312 of UNITE, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, represents the company's hourly workers.

T.J. Maxx came under fire earlier this year at its facility in Pittston Township, Pa., when a search of 180 job applications by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security revealed 90 illegal workers, according to a September report by the Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

T.J. Maxx is not the only company that has attracted attention recently for employing undocumented workers.

In October, federal agents raided 60 Wal-Mart stores across the nation and arrested more than 250 illegal immigrants who worked as janitors for outside contractors used by Wal-Mart. The company then announced it would review the status of its 1.1 million U.S. employees and fire any illegal immigrants.

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On the Net:

T.J. Maxx: http://www.tjmaxx.com

[BeerSwillr]

From now on, until this problem is resolved one way or another, I will make it a point to go up to every mexican looking employee I see in any store I'm in, and ask them for assistance. If, in my opinion, I think they don't speak English well enough I'll call the local USCIS enforcement office and report the employer.

FYI in Dallas that number is 214-767-7900 extension 134.

[mewzilla]

FWIW, I know a lot of natives who are lousy English speakers :)

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

BTTT

[old-ager]

SANITY

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

You ever worked retail?

I spent 15 years in retail. 10 of them as a manager. I was told that upon pain of death we were not to issue a paycheck to anyone who could not comply with the requirements of the INS form.

BTW, I hate working retail. Best thing I ever did was get out.

[Gabz]

That's surprising. Here on the DelMarVa penninsula, where poultry is practically King, Perdue, Tyson and Townsend are among the most noted for their strict adherence to only hiring those legally able to work here.

[Gabz]

I don't get it...everytime I've gone for a job, they ask to see your Driver's license or Social Security card. Don't they do that anymore?

I know they do it in Delaware and I assume here in Virginia.

Heck I had trouble getting a Virginia drivers license because my Delaware driver's license had a different last name on it than my social security card. I had never bothered to change my maiden name to my married name with SSA. Virginia would not issue me a DL until I had it changed.

It was easier to get my name changed on the social security card than it was for me to get a DL.

[x1stcav]

Good news.

Hell! I may even do business with them.

What is it they do?

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Discount items, clothing mostly. I shop there. I get nice outfits for about a third of what I would pay at JC Pennys or Sears. Of course you do have to hunt through the rack so be warned.

[TSgt]

" BTW, I hate working retail. Best thing I ever did was get out."

LOL! I worked at Kmart for a stint. Dealing John Q Public Idiot left me scarred for life.

Sundays were the worst when church let out. It would amaze you how nasty church people can be.

Then there were the old people who waited until the last day of the sale to come in and buy the sale item of which none were left. My ears are still bleeding from the verbal scoldings I received by people 4 times my age! "What do you mean you're out of the white Black & Decker deluxe toasters? That's a crock! Do you know what you're doing to me! I'm on a fixed income!"

Will someone please pass me my Prozac?...

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Will someone please pass me my Prozac?...

Oh, brother man...I hear ya. I still have vivid memories of days when I actually approached a nervous breakdown. There weren't more than 1 or 2 but "scarred for life" is the only phrase that says it right.

I'm 6' 4" and weigh over 230 lbs. There are some very lucky shoppers walking around upright today because of my preternatural self control.

Conversely, I absolutely love what I do these days (Computer Engineering) and where I do it. Sam is a happy boy.

[TSgt]

Glad to hear!

Aren't machines/computers easier to deal with than humans?

If they give you grief you just turn the off! ;)