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A group of Wal-Mart shareholders is asking Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Board of Directors to establish a special committee of independent directors to conduct a comprehensive review of Wal-Mart's legal and regulatory controls, a news release said Wednesday.

The group is comprised of New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr.; Edward M. Smith, chairman of the Illinois State Board of Investment; Karina Litvack, head of Governance & Socially Responsible Investing of F&C Asset Management; and Jason Fletcher, Americas Equity manager of the UK University Superannuation Scheme.

The shareholders collectively represent holdings of 11,455,206 shares of Bentonville-based Wal-Mart common stock, with an estimated market value of $545,840,565, according to the release.

Among the concerns cited by shareholders were the 2003 raids by U.S. federal agents of 60 Wal-Mart stores in 21 states, resulting in an $11 million settlement of charges that Wal-Mart exploited illegal immigrants; and Wal-Mart's 2005 settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor of 24 violations of child labor laws in three states.

In addition, the shareholders pointed to a federal court certification of a national class action sex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of 1.5 million current and former female employees. They also raised concerns over the circumstances surrounding the recent resignation of Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Thomas Coughlin.

The shareholders are asking the Wal-Mart board to issue a report on the committee's findings by December. A copy of the letter can be found at www.comptroller.nyc.gov.