Wage and Hour Lawsuits against Wal-Mart Settled for over $350 Million

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Last week, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. announced that they have agreed to pay between $352 million and $640 million to settle 63 wage and hour lawsuits filed against the retailer in 42 different states. The lawsuits accused the company of cheating hourly workers by forcing them to work through breaks and not paying them for overtime.

The wage and hour violation settlement may set a new standard for other companies who have been failing to pay employees according to the requirements of federal labor laws.

In recent years, federal court wage and hour class action filings have surpassed employment discrimination class actions, with claims involving issues such as misclassifying employees as salaried or independent contractors, failing to pay for “off-the-clock” work or on-duty meal breaks, denied reimbursements and miscalculation of commissions and bonuses.

Spinal-Cord-Stimulation-Lawsuit
Spinal-Cord-Stimulation-Lawsuit

Class action wage and hour lawsuits against Wal-Mart have generated a significant amount of media attention, as the retailer is the largest private employer in the world. The company has lost high profile lawsuits over wage violations in California in 2005 and Pennsylvania in 2006, which resulted in verdicts of $172 million and $78 million respectively for Walmart employees in each state.

Earlier this month, Wal-mart agreed to pay $54.3 million to settle a wage and hour class action lawsuit brought on behalf of workers in Minnesota, after a judge found that the company had violated wage and hour laws more than 2 million times.

Under the terms of this latest settlement, current and former employees in 42 states will receive at least $352 million, and the payments could reach $640 million, depending on the number of claims submitted by affected workers.

According to the New York Times, the Walmart settlement resolves all but 12 pending wage and hour lawsuits against the company. Some advocacy groups have suggested that Walmart settled the claims to avoid becoming the target of increased wage and hour enforcement that is expected under the Obama administration.


499 Comments


Jamie
I recieved one of the packets in the mail but I thought it was just a fluke so I threw it away and never thought about it again, Just today I was on facebook and well one of my friends said that he recieved a check for 700 dollars and I ask him how he got it and he told me and all i could say was wow, I wish i had filled it out but I wwas wondering is there anyway that I could like get another one sent to me or fill it out online? I need help finding this stuff out so please if anyone has any information please let me know and thank you.

Jamie
did anyone in Ohio get a check yet?

Dominick
Recieved check yesterday for 1100 dollars,Orlando,Florida,Thanks be to God!

mal
I called the number 1-800-743-3794 and found out, that the money will be given to those who worked in florida walmarts and supercenters. I was sad to hear the news.

travena
i live in macon ga and would like to know have anyone received there check yet.

jason
I am still being denied breaks alot of times, and when i do get them there usually both at the same time 30 min before the end of my schedule. I hate working there, pay is unfair and being hired on for a specific position and then forced to do jobs that are not what i was hired for. there answer is “you work for walmart so anything in the store needs to be done you do it” I would love to see walmart go under.

yo
recd check almost 700.00

mouse
honestly walmart is a croc. i hate working there, the only reason i do is to pay my bills. it started out nice because everybody was so friendly and kind to each other right? then they stuck me back in the garden center and sometimes i was 2 hours over a lunch and this happened every single day, every single week for months. not only did i miss lunch but i was missing my birth control pills which is very very dangerous because they never gave me my breaks. a few times i was told to stay 15-20 minutes after i was supposed to clock out because they never gave me my last break which was 2 hours overdue (obviously) i never ever got my breaks on time! finally i talked to management after i had missed another pill due to them not giving me a break and everything changed from there but i’m still wondering if i can get something for this. not only that but i started class recently and i filled a fucking form out that said i cannot work such and such days and here they are trying to tell me i’m a damn no call no show. i filled out the stupid forms, how am i a no call no show? i cannot work on the days i have college, there is no time and if they fire me i will file the biggest lawsuit they have ever seen. is there any way anybody can help me out or tell me how i can settle the unfair treatment? OH p.s. i don’t know how to do food benefit cards and they are always putting me on those stupid registers and if i keep doing food benefit cards wrong some people who have food benefit cards could lose their food stamp card benefits and i could get in trouble for it! i was even told that i would get in trouble, yet they never show me how to do it! i’m pissed!

MONICA
CHECKS ARE ALREADY BEING MAILED IN FL I WORKED THERE 10 MONTHS AND DIDNT EVEN RECV ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THIS HOW CAN I GET MY CHECK.

t
my sister along with several others received checks yesterday an today for 600 in pcola fl

margaret
Hell froze over…. I just recvd a check from the settlement. I live in florida. The amount will vary according to how much you worked and how you filled out the paper work. If ;you have changed address since sending in the paper work, the Number given to call is 1-800-743-3794. This is the Claim Administrator number.. GOOD LUCK TO ALL.

surena
I received an email a few months ago to update my info and email it back but I erased the return email info by mistake and dont know whom to contact.I am in Houston, Texas and have no clue to what is going on with the lawsuit could some please fill me in with all information please.Has anyone received a ck yet?

mona
has anyone heard of checks being mailed to CA?

Shawn
when will they mail checks to ohio

margaret
thats the way wal-mart works. they tell you to do extra time and then they tell you to take a longer lunch or come in later. You are told you have to “kill the time” or else you will be fired. I was told that you are by law to be paid for ALL time worked, not what ever Wal-Mart feels like paying. But looks like Wal-Mart is all powerful and no one wants to make them pay up for what they should. Thats why we will probably not see a penny.

victor
I filled out the paperwork 20 months ago and still haven’t recieved a dime.the lawyers probally cashed my check ,I noticed they refused to publish information about the checks .now the lawyers should be sued for taking our money.

Ann
My husband works for Wal-mart here in ohio at store 1990 and he’s has been asked by mangers to work when he was clocked out. He helps and clocks back in and them will finish his break sometimes.Wal-mart is also hiring people with benefits and them taking them away. He gets paid for holidays and them when it comes to you getting holiday pay you are given a extra day off so they will not have to pay you for the holiday pay. to us this is wrong this started about three years ago so (NO HOLIDAY PAY AT WAL-MART) not right when you are told you you have to take a extra day off.

Lori
How can it go back to court???? When people have received checks? Thats just wrong and insane.

james
SHOW ME THE MONEY YOU CORPARATE @%$$#&**^%

Kala
I haven’t got a check either and I live in Arkansas. Let me know if anyone has gotten a check and they live in arkansas.

sharon
Has anyone heard of anything new happening, any more checks going out, new appeals or better yet an end to all this madness. Its so frustrating trying to get any info on these class action suits going on. They claim to keep to sites updated but I haven’t seen anything new on any site. They could at least keep us better informed about what is going on. We at least deserve that.

doris
I just recieved an email stating that the case is back in court. They will not put out checks till it is resolved. I live in mass. They said last week they would update web site and are still saying the samething so what the problem is no one knows wich i do not believe is right.

shirley
has any one from texas received a check and if so when?

Jamie
did anyone in Ohio receive a check yet?

Lori
Well my mother in law got something from walmart. I will know more when my father n law comes home from work to see if it is our check. If its her’s the one he filled out, that means ours or soon to follow hopefully!!!. Will write in here how much it is ๐Ÿ™‚ so checks are deffiently coming in mass!!!!

doris
In one of the web sites someone said they herd from gordon law and said someone put in an objective saying lawers were getting to much money and did not think judge would except it but it could take another year. I think we will never see the money. Maybe all the news channels should get the stories there yhe ones at christmas time who said we were getting an early christmas present yet 8 months later were is the money.

Shirley
I just wish that someone that has received a check tell us about how much we can look foward to.

Lori
I hear you Joanne we are waiting too , we also live in mass and I have not heard anything its so frustrating.

lori
wow Robert your an ass. You really need to keep your rude comments to yourself. if you have never worked at walmart which clearly you have not then you need to shut up. walmart is horrible. and people did do their jobs correctly. if they were not in the wrong the judge would have been on their side now would he. they found something there. so you need to just shut the hell up

Peggy
when i workrked for wal-mart at the old store the door would b locked til zoneing was done. plus when we did the holiday section we would work at nite with the doors locked.i was told that no one was able to leave til the morin when they where able to unlock the doors.i aske what would happen if we needed out and they said we would have to stay til someone on the morin shift came to get out.

JO-ANNE
GET THE LEAD OUT AND SEND THE MONEY……………I AGREE WITH WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT WALMART IT IS NOT A NICE PLACE TO WORK………………

Tamara
Everyone besides Robert knows what it like to work @ Wal-Mart, it is not an easy task no matter what your job title may be. It is for the best that he stick with landscaping, or construction because if he only knew what it was really like he wouldn’t have made a stupid A++ comment like that anyway. Hey Robert here’s an idea, quit your job and apply at Wal-Mart and we will see how you like it!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

JO-ANNE FROM MASS
HI EVERYONE I KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK FOR WALMART I USED TO WORK FOR THEM AS WELL, I HELPED PUT THE STORE IN NORTH ATTLEBORO UP AND THE MANGEMENT TEAM THAT WAS THERE, ALL TALK, DID NOT CARE ABOUT ANY ONE, I WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE MONEY IS AS WELL, IT IS ABOUT TIME THEY GET WHAT THEY DESERVE, THEY TREAT THERE ASSOCIATES LIKE A PIECE OF XXXX MY DAD WAS ON HIS DEATH BED AND I ASKED TO BE LET OUT SO I COULD GO AND BE WITH HIM WELL THE ASSISTANT MANAGER THAT WAS ON SAID I COULD NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE STORE WAS CLEAN WELL NEEDLESS TO SAY MY DAD PASSED THE FOLLOWING DAY AND FOR A LONG TIME I HAD HATE FEELINGS TOWARDS THIS PERSON, HE THOUGHT HE WAS THE CATS MEOW, WELL HE WAS NOT I ALWAYS DID MY JOB AND DID IT TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY WELL LET ME TELL YOU BACK THEN IT IS NOT WHO YOU KNEW IT WAS WHO YOU SLEPT WITH AND TO THIS DAY I STILL SAY THE SAME THING THEY WILL NEVER CHANGE, I WANT WHAT IS OWED TO ME AND I WANT IT NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE NO COMPASION FOR THEM DISH OUT THE MONEY THIS WEEK FOR THE ONES WHO LIVE IN MASS….

christina
Well, where can one really start. Working at Walmarts is like we’re being treated like an encounter of a third demension or like a prisoner should best desribe and account for what most have to say for working at walmarts. I don’t know what exactly lawsuit I’d really fall into: on any given day I had so many dealings with walmarts as an employee, being over worked due to reporting (retaliation for discrimination) & harrassment practices then being turned against me, to my religion brought against me, my limitaions that either of my adhd or else (3) work injuries I had inquired while working for walmarts, to using my bronchitious against me when I had a doctor excuse that stated to take a day off to being used against me as one of these injuries wasn’t reported, and my boss would use other employees against me to manipulate me for his own personal gain, I was either yelled at, constantly critizied no matter what it was i knew I did my best to work with this company, I have no clue to where to start and its so depressing to have to get just what you deserve when they fight you all the way from what I see here. I’m looking to file a lawsuit with the iowa commissions, eeoc and actively looking for a attorney to represent me.PS. I wish you all luck on all your issues and hopefully someone can get these walmarts for doing inappropiate practices and doing things their way and alot of them against their own policies….. any suggesstions anyone can help would be excellent! thanks! Also, to conclude that I was told by my boss when I was a customer one day at the store I worked for, that I wouldn’t mess with something you can’t handle, its too Big”…..meaning that they knew I had the right to file a lawsuit of some kind against them, perhaps retaliation for reporting harrassment and discrimination practices, for damages of the constant stress that was put on me , as became a hostile work environment , there was no end then I was fired , wrongfully terminated over the phone due to my injuries i had their they tred getting out of it and wanted me to take fmla, d-day to see if I wanted to work for their company , as wanted me to return to the job I was first hired to do, this is all wrong and if there is someone out there that has gone through these things like I have, I couldn’t imagine worse, its sad and it changes how somone perspective of walmarts company really is and the whole outlook of the company is failing and wrong.

Val
Ok this is getting extremely frustrating…..back in april we heard that walmart agreed to pay $40 million to massachusetts associates who had been employed from 1995- till not sure what the year is for working off the clock. That definetly did happen and even now it still happens I have been with walmart almost 14yrs now and we deserve that lost money……..so where is the money??????

sharon
Was going through any news about mdl settlement and came across one that was a court docket stating that the judge from nevada has ordered that the case be settled and the people that appealed were denied whatever they appealed. This judgement was filed on July 2,2010. It said they have thirty days to provide courts with the names of all plaintiffs involved in class action. So maybe soon the checks will be sent out for this MDL Class Action #1735 for the thirty states involved.Hope this helps everyone who is waiting.

sharon
LMAO!!!!!…Well said Margaret.

MARGARET
FOR COMMENT BY ROBERT.. YOU ARE AN ASS. IF YOU WORK, YOU SHOULD GET PAID FOR IT. IF YOU WORK IN THE OCCUPATIONS YOU STATED, YOU GET PAID BY THE JOB. GROW UP.. ALSO LEARN TO SPELL. WE WHO WORKED AT WAL-MART ARE NOT LAZY. WE WORK OUR ASS OFF SO PEOPLE LIKE YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY ON.

TIFFANY
i worked the closing shift at walmart in ca and i would have to sit there untill they had time to unlock the door and let me out to go home, they say its the most family orentited company to work for haha that a bunch of bull..

Larry
when will checks be mailed in florida

sharon
my check was $506

sharon
Excuse me Mr. Robert, but not everyone has a cake job in walmart. I work my #$$ off back in tire lube express everyday and I.m lucky if I get a break!!! So you don,t know what you are talking about. So why don,t you mind your own business.

Robert
A bunch of lazy people wining about not getting breaks and lunches. Wal-Mart is the only business in my town that offers paid breaks. It’s certainly not work either. Try landscaping, construction, or flooring and you babies would see what it really means to work an honest day. Boy back in the day people like you wouldn’t even have jobs. Your not worth anything to a business if your going to piss and moan and not think about doing your job correctly.

sharon
kentucky

christy
Hi. I worked at Walmart in Louisiana from 99-05 before being wrongfully terminated. Then they fought me over unemployment, which thankfully I won. I received a form regarding this lawsuit a year ago. Glad to see it is finally resolved. Haven’t heard anything about getting any money, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

jamie
i see people are getting there checks but no one is saying how much watch were only going to get a few bucks it would figure lol

patti
Have they started sending checks in w.v. yet? i havent heard?

stacy
Does anyone have information on where to file my claim? I moved and did not get the form in the mail.

shirley
i live and worked at awalmart in ky some one else i know got her check the same day i got mine we worked at the same walmart

shirley
imine came from ky someone else i know that worked at walmart in ky received hers the same day i did

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