23:10 04.10.2007 | All news from "Settlements"

Settlement: Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Philadelphia, PA: A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of thousands of Pennsylvania employees alleging the retail chain systematically missed rest breaks and hours worked beyond regular shifts. The class claimed Wal-Mart made Pennsylvania workers skip more than 33 million rest breaks from 1998 to 2001 to boost productivity and curb labor costs. The class included approximately 186,000 current and former employees. A Philadelphia jury has awarded workers $78.5 million. (Oct-13-06)[]

UPDATE:
OCT-03-07: The workers of Wal-Mart in Pennsylvania have won an additional $62.3 million in damages over and above the $78.5 million class action award they won earlier for working off the clock. As per a state law, a company cannot withhold pay, without cause, for more than 30 days, pertaining to that about 125,000 people will receive $500 each in damages. In 2006, a Philadelphia jury rejected Wal-Mart's claim that some people chose to work through breaks or that a few minutes of extra work here and there was insignificant and awarded the workers the exact amount they had sought.

In the Pennsylvania class action suit the initial $78.5 million award represented 187,000 current and former employees of Wal-Mart and Sam's Clubs who worked from March 1998 through May 2006. The latest settlement of $62.3 million is about a smaller number of 125,000 employees who qualified for the damage award, which excludes others by legal time limits and those seeking interest on the back wages. The payments for lost wages to the workers are expected to range from about $50 to a few thousand dollars subject to their employment history. According to the Plaintiff’s lawyer, his clients have not yet received any money and likely won't for some time if the company appeals. The company sources say that many employees testified that they skipped rest breaks by choice despite the company discouraging such practice and employers should not be penalized for that. []




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