- Posted May 10, 2012
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Wal-Mart agrees to pay $4.8M in back wages, damages
By Kimberly Atkins
Dolan Media Newswires
BOSTON, MA--A Department of Labor investigation of Wal-Mart Stores has ended with the company agreeing to pay $4,828,442 in back wages and damages to more than 4,500 employees nationwide.
The agreement also requires the retail chain to pay $463,815 in civil money penalties for violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime provisions.
The violations involved misclassified vision center managers at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores who were not compensated for overtime, according to the Labor Department. Under the terms of the settlement, Wal-Mart has agreed to pay all back wages the department says it owes for the violations, plus an equal amount in liquidated damages to the employees.
"Misclassification of employees as exempt from FLSA coverage is a costly problem with adverse consequences for employees and corporations," Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said in a statement announcing the settlement. "Let this be a signal to other companies that when violations are found, the Labor Department will take appropriate action to ensure that workers receive the wages they have earned."
Wal-Mart corrected its classification practices in 2007, and negotiation over the back pay issues has been ongoing since that time.
Entire contents copyrighted © 2012 by The Dolan Company.
Published: Thu, May 10, 2012
headlines Ingham County
- Foster Swift selects Taylor A. Gast as Business & Tax Practice co-leader
- MLaw Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic partners on suit against online “ghost gun” seller
- Law firm donates legal fees to ACLU of Michigan
- Dual JD student explores criminal defense work
- Wayne State University daylong symposium promotes civil discourse
headlines National
- 50 Years of Service: ABA has been a ‘stalwart ally’ for LSC funding
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Biden recalls time he bluffed knowledge of torts case and why he changed his mind about civil-trial work
- Lawyers’ ‘barrage of personal attacks’ on opponents started with tissue-box toss, appeals court says
- Longtime prosecutor resigns after judge tosses him from case, citing Perry Mason-type revelations
- 24% of law students expect to work in public service, survey says