Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the "Stop Walmart Act" Thursday. The bill would prohibit large corporations from buying back stock unless all employees earned at least $15 an hour and earned up to seven days of paid sick leave. It would also ensure the highest paid employees, including a company's CEO, don't make more than 150 times the median pay of all employees.
Walmart raised its minimum wage to $11 an hour this past February, according to CNN. Walmart called their wages and benefits competitive with an opportunity to advance and earn more.
In a tweet, Sanders said: "It is grossly unfair for millions of workers in this country to be earning starvation wages, while the companies they work for make billions in profits and pay their CEOs outrageously high compensation packages."
He also called out the wealth of the family who founded Walmart, saying middle class taxpayers should not have to subsidize the company's low wages while they're worth billions.
This comes a few months after Sanders introduced a bill known as the "Stop BEZOS Act," meant to keep large employers from underpaying their workers. Amazon raised its minimum wage in the United States to $15 an hour a few weeks later.
CNN reports Sanders has been vocal about other profitable companies, "including American Airlines and McDonald's, for paying low wages."
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
