Ah, the PR nightmare I like to call Wal-Mart. They’ve been trying to polish up their image, but just can’t seem to get it right. Just earlier this week, in a rather odd move, Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott was urging Congress to raise the minimum wage and look more closely at legislation to help working families. Was he possessed, or was he hoping that pesky memo from Susan Chambers, the VP of benefits wouldn’t surface? That memo, in short, pretty much states that old, fat, sick people need not apply.

Sure, their health care packages will have lower premiums, but if an employee sees a doctor three times, a hefty $1,000 deductible kicks in. Chambers stated in this memo that they want “to attract a healthier, more productive workforce.” By the way they also want to add physical activity as part of the job – even for cashiers, because workers “are getting sicker” primarily in “obesity-related diseases.” Okay, so having deals with Dunkin' Donuts, Blimpie's, and other fast-food retailers in stores has absolutely NOTHING to do with that. Oh, and did you know that life insurance is considered a “high-satisfaction, low-important” benefit – so they can just cut that out. No one will miss it anyway.

Am I surprised? Not at all – this only proves that all those discrimination charges are true (as if I was even doubtful of that). The crazy thing is, even with all this bad press, they still remain the world’s largest retailer.