Combat Pay For Walmart’s Audit Committee

The chair of  the Walmart board’s audit committee will receive $90,000 in extra compensation because of work created by ongoing investigations concerning allegations of potential corrupt practices violations by the company in Mexico, Brazil, China, India and other countries. Walmart directors normally receive an annual cash “retainer” of $100,000 and an annual stock grant worth $175,000, plus a generous stipend if attending a board meeting requires intercontinental travel. The FCPA investigation in question dates back to 2011. In 2017 Walmart said it had reserved $283 million for a possible FCPA resolution with the DOJ and SEC. A press release at that time said that settlement talks had progressed to a point where it could “reasonably estimate a probable loss.” Other members of the board’s audit committee are being paid $45,000 extra for the FCPA-related work, according to an SEC filing. A disclosure from Walmart’s April 23, 2019 Proxy Statement explains that the work for which members are being compensated significantly increases their workload “related to communication with internal counsel, outside counsel and other advisors.” According to a recent article in the Washington Post, pay for store managers at Walmart average $175,000 a year, while full time hourly wage workers average $14.26 an hour, about $25,200 a year for 34-hour weeks, which is considered full time at Walmart.