Wal-Mart staff win wage-and-hour class action suit
In July 2008, Wal-Mart lost a $6.5 million class action lawsuit in a Minnesota court after an arduous three-month trial. A state court judge ruled that Wal-Mart broke state labor laws more than two million times because the supermarket chain failed to provide its employees proper rest breaks. The damages were awarded to approximately 56,000 Wal-Mart employees in Minnesota.
This ruling takes place after a $172 million jury verdict against Wal-Mart in California in 2005 and a $78 million jury verdict in Pennsylvania in 2006. Both cases are being appealed.
A Wal-Mart spokesperson released a statement about the case, “We are pleased that the court in Minnesota ruled in Wal-Mart’s favor on many points before, during, and after trial. We respectfully disagree with portions of the decision. As part of the order, the court invited both parties to file an appeal, and we are considering that option.”
Houston legal eagle Susman Godfrey represented Wal-Mart in both trials and is leading the appeals as well.
There were some positive outcomes for Wal-Mart’s ruling, where the judge did not award the entire $25 million sought by plaintiffs, and found millions fewer violations than the class had alleged.
But the supermarket giant still has a second trial on breaking state labor laws. Minnesota’s statute provides for fines of up to $1,000 per violation of state labor law, so Wal-Mart may have to pay out more than $2 billion.
However, this amount of money will go to the state of Minnesota and not to class members. The jury at the second trial, scheduled to begin in October, will also consider punitive damages, which will go to the class.
Lawyers for the class view the judge’s ruling as a victory for the plaintiffs, even though the class did not get everything they sought after.
On top of the continuing Minnesota trial, Wal-Mart has to deal with at least five more wage-and-hour trials in the next year and a half.
Related posts:
- Wal-Mart class action given the green light
- Wal-Mart
- Former Ralph Lauren staff launch class action lawsuit
Leave a Reply