The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. must face a class action by South Carolina employees claiming that the company forced them to work through breaks and off the clock, a judge ruled.

They said that, “current and former hourly workers from July 31, 1999, forward can sue in a single case, Judge Perry M. Buckner III in Walterboro, S.C., said. The group of about 100,000 workers is large enough and their claims similar enough to allow a class action, Buckner said in an Aug. 1 ruling.”

Wal Mart faces more than 70 U.S. wage-and-hour suits by employees claiming it failed to pay for all hours worked.  In other Wal Mart news, Julie Roehm, Wal-Mart’s former marketing chief alleged in a recent court filing that Lee Scott, Wal-Mart’s CEO, bought yachts and jewellery for his wife at preferential prices as a result of his relationship with Irwin Jacobs, whose company buys unsold Wal-Mart stock.  Roehm, the accuser, was previously fired for an alleged affair with another employee and for accepting gifts from vendors.  Both sides contend the respective accusations and, like the wage-and-hour suits, will have their day in court.  The internal investigation and subsequent firing of Julie Roehm is a story in itself, one that is as deeply troubling as it is interesting.

Considering Wal-Mart’s ongoing business, human resources, labor, and ethical issues, one might be justified in considering these as signs of a company that has become bloated and unmanageable, that is perhaps nearing the end of its useful business life. Could we be viewing WM’s segue into senescence?