A group of lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in New Jersey, claiming the retail giant violated the RICO Act, the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act, by conspiring with cleaning contractors to not pay immigrant janitors overtime.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status for thousands of immigrant workers, hired by the contractors to clean the floors in Wal-Mart department stores.

“Wal-Mart and the contractor defendants,” the suit says, “have engaged in and profited from a nationwide fraudulent scheme designed to defraud the United States government through the nonpayment of taxes and injure and exploit the plaintiffs and those similarly situated through wide-scale violation of protection of federal and state labor and employment law.”

The lawsuit was filed after federal agents raided more than 60 stores across the nation, detaining up to 250 janitors described as illegal immigrants.

(via New York Times)