Walgreens

Reasons to avoid

1. The U.S. Department of Justice reached a $350 million settlement with Walgreens in April 2025 after finding the pharmacy chain knowingly filled millions of prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked a legitimate medical purpose. Walgreens processed these illegal prescriptions despite its pharmacists flagging them as suspicious, fueling opioid addiction and overdoses in communities across the country.justice.gov2025-04-21
2. Florida's attorney general secured a $683 million settlement from Walgreens in May 2022 over the improper dispensing of opioid painkillers, finding that more than half of the prescriptions Walgreens filled showed red flags indicating potential abuse or diversion. The settlement was part of Florida's broader $3 billion recovery from multiple pharmacy chains over their role in the opioid crisis.myfloridalegal.com2022-05-05
3. The U.S. Attorney's Office recovered $269.2 million from Walgreens in January 2019 after finding the pharmacy chain had systematically overbilled Medicare and Medicaid for prescriptions that were never picked up by patients. Walgreens billed federal health programs for drugs dispensed at the register but often not actually taken by customers, collecting payment without delivering the medication.justice.gov2019-01-22
4. A federal judge approved a $4.5 million settlement in December 2020 after more than 2,600 Walgreens distribution center workers in California alleged the company rounded down their timecards and failed to compensate them for mandatory bag checks before and after shifts. Workers estimated the unpaid time totaled 20 to 30 minutes per day over years of employment.hrdive.com2020-12-16
5. The U.S. Department of Labor found a Charleston, South Carolina Walgreens had employed a 12-year-old worker in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets the minimum employment age at 14 for non-agricultural jobs. The violation was the latest in a history of labor law citations against the pharmacy chain.dol.gov2022-01-18
6. The EEOC settled a lawsuit against Walgreens in March 2024 after finding the company forced a pregnant pharmacist to continue working without providing accommodation for her disability and later demoted her following her pregnancy. Walgreens paid $205,000 and agreed to implement new anti-discrimination policies and training.eeoc.gov2024-03-15
7. Walgreens announced in March 2023 that it would refuse to dispense mifepristone, a medication used for abortion and miscarriage management, in 20 states even where the drug is legal, following a letter from Republican attorneys general threatening legal action. The decision drew criticism from reproductive health advocates and prompted California Governor Gavin Newsom to announce the state would not renew a Walgreens contract.npr.org2023-03-04