Breaks at issue in Wal-Mart lawsuit

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/special_packages/pdn_pcom/15607878.htm?source=syn

Breaks at issue in Wal-Mart lawsuit
A class action for 186,000 workers is being argued in a Phila. courtroom. Plaintiffs say they were denied time to eat or rest.
By Jane M. Von Bergen
Inquirer Staff Writer

The problem was always worse at the holidays, said Delores Killingsworth Barber, 25, of North Philadelphia.

That's when she and other Wal-Mart workers say they missed many meal and rest breaks and that's when they'd sometimes have to work off the clock to get shelves restocked before the overnight crew came in.

Workers were told to "do whatever it takes to get it done; and if that meant missing your break, that's what had to be done," Barber testified in a Philadelphia courtroom yesterday. She is one of several former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employees to take the stand in a class-action lawsuit involving 186,000 current and former employees of Wal-Mart, the state's largest private employer.

The case in Common Pleas Court is the third class-action lawsuit over wage and hour issues to go to trial. In December, California jurors ordered the big-box retailer to pay $172.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages to 115,919 current and former workers at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in California who missed meal breaks. Wal-Mart said it would appeal.

In Oregon, 90 Wal-Mart workers got about $2,000 each, and a case was settled in Colorado for $50 million.

Pennsylvania's case is bigger than California's because it involves more plaintiffs and three issues - off-the-clock work, missed rest breaks, and missed meal breaks. At least 40 similar suits have been filed, according to Bloomberg News.

Wal-Mart has been under attack from unions and activists over its employment policies, health benefits and business practices. The discount retailer has responded by improving its benefits, embarking on public relations campaigns, and donating money to community causes.

Yesterday, Wal-Mart executives, who testified by video, said it was up to store managers to make sure that employees got their breaks.

FULL story at link above.

[mntleo2]

1. Waltons Are Corporate Whores

...Gawd the owners of WalMart are the biggest, cheapest white trash greedheads in the world. What a family of slime.

Cat In Seattle

[donco6]

2. This scam has been around forever.

Here's how it works:

Wal Mart sets up a schedule each week for workers. If you work more than X hours, you get a 15 minute break somewhere in the middle. If you work more than Y hours, you get that plus 30 minute lunch.

So what happens is they schedule you to work a few minutes shy of X hours, then they don't schedule a replacement for another hour beyond that. Then they come up to you and ask you "Can you fill in until John gets here"? And you don't even get the first break. If you say, "No", they cut your hours during the next scheduling.

These people are evil. I will NEVER EVER set foot in a Wal Mart or a Sam's Club.