I'm not saying Wal-Mart is satanic ... wait, that's exactly what I'm saying

This is impressive. Wal-Mart pays $135,540 to settle 24 federal charges that it violated child labor laws. While it's pretty despicable that Wal-Mart treats the minors in its employ with no more respect than it normally accords employees (one violation pertained to a youth who injured his thumb while using a chain saw to cut some Christmas trees), this kind of settlement doesn't strike one as out of the ordinary. Except for one extremely broad and generous concession.

Seems one provision of the agreement gives Wal-Mart 15 days' advance notice before the Labor Department investigates any other "wage and hour" accusations. You know, trifling matters, like failure to pay minimum wage or overtime. Things that don't even pertain to child labor practices, the area the agreement ostensibly covers.

I'm sure there are plenty of businesses that would love to get that kind of latitude from the government agencies that would otherwise regulate them. So this isn't even a slap on the wrist. It's a major windfall for Wal-Mart, which now has more than two weeks to sweep the dirt under the rug before the Labor Department investigates reports of forced overtime, locked emergency exits for the night shift and militant refusal to tolerate unionization. Nice, huh?