Wal-Mart settles $54 million worker lawsuit

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) will settle an employee class-action lawsuit for $54 million over allegations of off-the-clock work and slicing break time for employees. Over 100,000 current and former hourly Wal-Mart employees are included in the suit, which covers a 10-year period from September 1998 to November 2008.

The Minnesota judge who ruled in the case indicated that labor laws were violated by the retailer over two million times as it allowed breaks to be shortened and not taking actions against managers who forced employees to work off the clock, thereby condoning their actions.

Wal-Mart spokesperson David Tovar said that the company is committed to paying workers for all time worked, and that managers who violate its policies were subject to punishment up to and including firing. Wal-Mart's argument was that employees had missed breaks voluntarily, but Judge Robert King Jr. ruled that Wal-Mart knew about the off-the-clock work and did not take any action against it.

Wal-Mart's settlement with Minnesota comes after a similar suit in Pennsylvania, where a $78.5 million verdict was awarded in 2006, and in California's 2005 $172 million verdict claiming Wal-Mart denied lunch breaks. The retailer is appealing both cases. It did, however, settle a Colorado suit for $50 million over unpaid wages.