With prosecutions like these, who needs lawyers?

Wal-Mart last week agreed to pay $135,540 to settle federal child-labor charges from the U.S. Department of Labor. But the company appears to have gotten a really good deal for its money.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, was accused of 24 child labor violations involving 85 teenage workers in New Hampshire, Connecticut and Arkansas. The company denied the charges and cut a sweetheart deal that not only put to rest the current case, but provides significant insulation from future investigations.

According to details of the deal reported by the Associated Press, Wal-Mart will be given 15 days notice before any Department of Labor investigation. The company also gets a 10-day period to bring stores into compliance if a violation is discovered. Other companies facing similar charges received no such grace period. They were expected to fix problems immediately or face penalties. And, the agreement limits what the Labor Department can say about the deal.

Regulators defended the settlement and said it was a standard arrangement. That appears to be an exaggeration. Sears and Foot Locker also settled child labor charges, but the terms of their deals were not as lenient.

“In effect it gives the company an unusual, if not unique, length of time to avoid or even cover up evidence in the future,” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told the Hartford Courant. “And it certainly diminishes the usefulness of any future federal investigation, which is why the state has an obligation to undertake a more proactive and aggressive role.”

Wal-Mart has a long history of trouble with the law. In 2000, the company paid $205,650 to Maine for child labor violations in 20 stores, the Courant reported. And in 2001, employees won a $50 million suit for “off-the-clock” work.

The retail giant, with $285 billion in sales last year and more than 3,000 stores, now will receive advance notice of complaints against it before a federal investigation. That shifts the enforcement of labor laws at Wal-Mart to the states. The federal government is no longer interested.