Wal-Mart Told to Pay
$78 Million
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Michael D. Donovan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said
of the verdict: “We think this is a complete vindication for
the workers.”
Photo: Matt Rourke/Associated
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By STEVEN GREENHOUSE,
NYTimes on the Web, October 14, 2006
A jury in Philadelphia said yesterday
that Wal-Mart Stores must pay $78 million to its current and former Pennsylvania
employees for not paying them when they worked through rest breaks and worked
off the clock.
Lawyers who brought the class action on behalf of 187,000 workers applauded the
verdict and said they expected the judge to soon order Wal-Mart to pay $62
million more in damages because the jury had also found that Wal-Mart acted in
bad faith.
The verdict is a blow to Wal-Mart because it comes as the company has sought to
portray itself as a generous law-abiding employer in the face of dozens of
lawsuits accusing it of not paying employees for missed breaks and off-the-clock
labor, or work done beyond their scheduled shift.
Wal-Mart said it planned to appeal. “The company disagrees with the
verdict on the points on which the jury found against it,” the company said in a
statement.
The company noted that most of the damages were awarded for “events that
occurred many years ago.” Wal-Mart said its “systems have been improved
over the years to help ensure that all associates receive their scheduled
breaks.”
The case, tried in the State Court of Common Pleas, accused Wal-Mart of not
paying for missed breaks from 1998 through May 2006. The plaintiffs’
lawyers pointed to Wal-Mart computer records indicating that its Pennsylvania
employees had skipped 33 million rest breaks from 1998 to 2001, when Wal-Mart
stopped requiring workers to clock out when they took the 15-minute breaks due
them.
“We think this is a complete vindication for the workers,” said Michael D.
Donovan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “This sends a message that they can’t talk
out of both sides of their mouth when it comes to dealing with employees and
employee problems.”
The plaintiffs’ lawyers had argued that Wal-Mart’s managers pushed for unpaid
work because inadequate budgets left their stores badly short of workers.
Last December, Wal-Mart lost a similar lawsuit when a jury in California ordered
the company to pay $172,000 to a class of 116,000 employees for failing to
comply with a state law requiring it to give 30-minute meal breaks.
Wal-Mart is appealing that verdict.
One of the lead plaintiffs, Dolores Hummel, who worked as a cake decorator for
Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club subsidiary, testified that she typically worked 8 to 12
unpaid hours each month. Two cashiers testified that after their regular shifts
ended, they were sometimes locked in their stores and ordered to restock goods
before they could leave.
Wal-Mart said yesterday that many employees had testified that they had skipped
their breaks by their own choice. “Wal-Mart is committed to treating its
associates fairly and in accordance with the law,” the company said.
On Thursday, the Philadelphia jury ruled that Wal-Mart had failed to pay workers
for off-the-clock work and for promised rest breaks and had no good-faith reason
for not paying them properly. But the jury found for Wal-Mart on one
question, concluding that it had made good on its promises to provide meal
breaks.
Frank Azar, a lawyer for the employees, said, “This verdict will re-energize the
plaintiffs’ bar in going after Wal-Mart on these issues.”
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