Clouse Dunn Hirsch: Former Wal-Mart Vice President Asks U.S. to Invest

DALLAS, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The following was released today by Clouse Dunn Hirsch:

An attorney representing former Wal-Mart Vice President Jared Bowen is asking an Arkansas U.S. Attorney to determine whether the company violated a government mandate it protect whistleblowers.

The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas already is investigating Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart regarding use of company money by a former board vice chairman.

Mr. Bowen spent 13 years at Wal-Mart, rising from store cashier to Vice President, Operations before the company fired him March 30, 2005. The termination came after Mr. Bowen reported some questionable expenses by his immediate superior, former Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Thomas Coughlin.

Mr. Bowen apparently was the first person at Wal-Mart ever to report the Coughlin expenses even though they went on for several years.

Mr. Coughlin resigned from the Wal-Mart's Board of Directors March 25. An internal Wal-Mart investigation has raised questions about Mr. Coughlin's expenditure of between $100,000 and $500,000 in company funds.

"Wal-Mart has an obligation to Jared and all employees to create an environment in which people can come forward, report wrongdoing and not worry about retaliation," says Mr. Bowen's attorney, Steve Kardell of Clouse Dunn Hirsch in Dallas. "But in this case, Jared came forward, reported wrongdoing, and the company packed up his things and sent him on his way. Someone will have to explain to me how that's not retaliation."

Safeguarding so-called corporate whistleblowers is one of the requirements of a U.S. Department of Justice document known as the Thompson Memorandum. It outlines the steps a company must take to avoid prosecution in an investigation involving corporate corruption. If Wal-Mart failed to follow the Thompson Memorandum, it could face even more government scrutiny.

Attorney Steve Kardell is an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law where he teaches corporate compliance. Clouse Dunn Hirsch is a Dallas law firm dedicated to assisting both individuals and corporations in business and employment disputes.

For more information or to speak with Steve Kardell, contact Mark Annick at 214-559-4630, pager 214-967-2299 or mark@legalpr.com