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Wal-Mart settles dozens of worker class-action lawsuits

December 29, 2008

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Tuesday that it would pay as much as $640 million to settle dozens of wage-and-hour class-action lawsuits across the nation that accused the world’s largest retailer of cheating hourly workers and forcing them to work through breaks and off the clock.

Wal-Mart has faced numerous accusations in recent years that it has engaged in illegal wage practices such as shortchanging workers on overtime pay and not allowing them to take lunch breaks.”Many of these lawsuits were filed years ago, and the allegations are not representative of the company we are today,” Tom Mars, Wal-Mart’s executive vice president, said in a statement.

The cases being settled, 63 in all, involve thousands of current and former Wal-Mart employees and were brought by various groups of lawyers. A similar case in California, in which Wal-Mart was ordered to pay $172 million, was not included in the settlements and is under appeal.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs could not be reached Tuesday, but some released statements saying they believed the settlements set a standard for other companies.

 

Read Article: Los Angeles Times

 

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