Walmart's New Sick Pay Plan Isn't Good Enough for Bernie Sanders

(Bloomberg) -- Senator Bernie Sanders took aim at Walmart Inc. again Monday -- this time to criticize its plan to offer 48 hours of paid sick leave to some employees for not going far enough.

In a tweet, the former presidential candidate, who is considering a second run for the Democratic nomination in 2020, described the move as “a small step forward, but not nearly good enough.”

Earlier today, Sanders and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said they’ll introduce legislation barring companies from buying back their own stock unless they first increase workers’ pay and benefits. Writing in a New York Times opinion piece, the senators said their plan would require companies to implement actions such as a $15-an-hour minimum wage or offering seven days of paid sick leave. They pointed to recent incidents of companies including Walmart and Wells Fargo & Co. repurchasing billions of dollars in shares at about the same time they cut jobs.

Further reading: Top Senate Democrats Propose Limits to Corporate Buybacks

In November Sanders, together with Rep. Ro Khanna said they’d announce a bill touted to “raise wages at large, profitable corporations, with legislation aimed at Walmart.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Morwenna Coniam in New York at mconiam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Clementine Fletcher

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