Exploitation is middle name of Wal-Mart: The company ordered to pay $78m
The giant has fallen. The world’s largest retailer Wal-Mart has been ordered to pay at least $78m in compensation to workers for having forced its employees to work during breaks.
The class action was brought by about 187,000 staff who worked for Wal-Mart between March 1997 and May 2006.
Dolores Hummel, the former employee who headed the case, also used to work at Sam's Club, a branch of Wal-Mart owned wholesaler for 10 years. She had alleged that she regularly had to work during breaks and after closing time because of work demands. Ms Hummel estimated she worked between eight and 12 hours unpaid each month. In the lawsuit, she said: "One of Wal-Mart's undisclosed secrets for its profitability is its creation and implementation of a system that encourages off-the-clock work for its hourly employees."
A lawyer for the plaintiffs said he would seek an extra $62m in damages because the jury had found that Wal-Mart acted in bad faith.
Wal-Mart’s pretension as a law-abiding and considerate retailer for employees and consumers has been exposed thread-bare with this decision, although even in the past (December), a California court had ruled Wal-Mart must pay $172m in compensation to 116,000 employees who had been denied meal breaks.
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