Wal-Mart Accused of Denying Lunch Breaks
 

They're at it again :mad:

From Yahoo

By DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 18 minutes ago



OAKLAND, Calif. - Lawyers representing about 116,000 former and current Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employees in California told a jury Monday that the world's largest retailer systematically and illegally denied workers lunch breaks.

The suit in Alameda County Superior Court is among about 40 cases nationwide alleging workplace violations against Wal-Mart, and the first to go to trial. Wal-Mart, which earned $10 billion last year, settled a lawsuit in Colorado for $50 million that contains similar allegations to California's class action. The company also is accused of paying men more than women in a federal lawsuit pending in San Francisco federal court.

The workers in the class-action suit are owed more than $66 million plus interest, attorney Fred Furth told the 12 jurors and four alternates.

"I will prove the reason they did this was for the God Almighty dollar," Furth said in his opening statement.

Nine jurors must side with the plaintiffs to prevail. Millions of dollars also are sought to punish the company for the alleged wrongdoing.

The case concerns a 2001 state law, which is among the nation's most worker friendly. Employees who work at least six hours must have a 30-minute, unpaid lunch break. If they do not get that, the law requires they are paid for an additional hour of pay.

The lawsuit covers former and current employees in California from 2001 to 2005.

Wal-Mart declined to give an opening statement, reserving its right to give one later. Its lawyers also declined comment.

In court documents, the Bentonville, Ark., company claims that workers did not demand penalty wages on a timely basis. Wal-Mart adds that it did pay some employees their penalty pay and, in 2003, most workers agreed to waive their meal periods as the law allows.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based company also says some violations were minor, such as demanding employees punch back in from lunch and work during their meal breaks. In essence, workers were provided a shorter meal period than the law allows.

The case does not claim that employees were forced to work off the clock during their lunch breaks.

The lawsuit was brought in 2001 by a handful of San Francisco-area former Wal-Mart employees, and took four years of legal wrangling to get to trial. During that time, Wal-Mart produced internal audits that plaintiffs' lawyers maintain showed the company knew it was not granting meal breaks on thousands of occasions.

That 2000 audit was given to top-level executives, according to evidence submitted to jurors Monday.

One company document called results of the audit "a chronic problem." A one-week review of company policies showed thousands of instances in which workers were not given a meal break in accordance with the law, according to the documents provided to the jury.

"This is Wal-Mart auditing Wal-Mart," Furth said.

On Tuesday, as many as three plaintiffs are expected to testify in a trial that will last weeks.

Several lawyers representing out-of-state Wal-Mart workers in class action lawsuits were in the gallery. Karin Kramer, a lawyer suing Wal-Mart on behalf of 50,000 Washington state company workers, said suing Wal-Mart is a gargantuan task.

"They can afford and do fight you on every single issue," she said.

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"The workers in the class-action suit are owed more than $66 million plus interest, attorney Fred Furth told the 12 jurors and four alternates."
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"To further clarify, jurors, if you find against Wal-Mart, each of the begrieved and hungry employees will get $1.98, and my law firm will get $60 mil," said Furth.

Good. I'm thinking of investing.

-Rudey

Re: Wal-Mart Accused of Denying Lunch Breaks
 

When I working in the shoe dept in Wal-mart during high schoo there were many times that you were the only person in the dept and if a customer needed something, our rule was that you did punch back in and help them, but then afterwards you got to go back to your lunch break and take the rest of it on the clock. (And if someone needed something less then 15 min after you sat down, you punched back in, it ws consistered a "break" which you got paid for, so then you got your whole lunch paid for)

In Walmart or the law firm? Or both.

In Walmart.

-Rudey
--They donated to Katrina victims while the US government sat back so now I'm investing in them since I have such a strong social/moral conscience.

GOOD WORKS: HURRICANE KATRINA
Wal-Mart steps in to help employees

By VIKKI CONWELL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/20/05

As Hurricane Katrina headed for New Orleans, Byron Perrilliat escaped from his hometown with his grandparents and a small overnight bag. He took refuge in the familiar, landing at the home of his sister in Alpharetta.

Days later, when Perrilliat realized his stay in Atlanta would not be short, he found himself at another familiar location — Wal-Mart.

"I just wanted to see if I could find a job," said the 23-year-old displaced employee. Temporary or permanent? asked Roswell store manager Tracy Dickerson.

"Permanent," said Perrilliat, who reported to work the next day. He also was given $500 to help with living expenses such as clothes and food for his family.

Since the storms hit, the box store giant has opened its doors and wallets to its 34,000 employees displaced from Gulf Coast stores. Each displaced worker was eligible to receive up to $1,000 in financial assistance and a comparable job in another store.

"We wanted to make sure we were helping them get back on their feet," said Michael Mills, regional director of corporate affairs. "Money is important but bringing as much normalcy as possible is more important."

Wal-Mart also established an online registry for evacuees to list the items they need most for recovery and to message loved ones. It is at www.wal-mart.com.

"I was impressed how they handled the situation," said Perrilliat, a grocery products worker. "It kind of eased the pain and took a big relief off. It gave me one less thing to worry about."

I'm kinda curious.. who really gets lunch breaks in this day and age? Most people WANT to work through it so they can leave earlier, at my work anyway. We go to lunch occasionally, but eating at your desk is the thing to do these days.

It doesn't really work that way in retail...if you're scheduled until closing you can't just eat your lunch out on the sales floor and then peace out an hour before the store closes.

In non-retail jobs some employers will force their employees to take a lunch, because people will work through their lunches, stay the full day anyway, and then demand overtime even though it wasn't authorized. That's neither here nor there really, but it happens.

Represented workers and those who either have or make the time. Otherwise, you're pretty much right on.

Working through lunch/eating at your desk is VERY detrimental to your overall performance and isn't a good practice to promote in the office.

You should take a break midway through the day to rest your brain, not to mention the hygiene issues of eating in a place that's not designated for it. Our MIS guy says more keyboards get ruined from food residue than you'd imagine.

Plus who wants to hear/smell the person next to them eating? Gross.

If you want to leave early, come in early.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...z1b30desk.html

Wrong! When I worked at Macys as a Manager, I got there early and left late!

I had a wife then!

I would be there at 8:00 and close at 9:00. Took two lunch hours.

Got My Butt Chewed out for that! I am going what the hell. 13 Hrs. Lunch and dinner? And all of the Hours were on my time not Companys?

Walley World is really getting their Shit stepped on for some of the things that they are doing, ergo Law Suits! Da!

I have customers who tell me some of this stuff! Forced non hours, no paid breaks, alien (NON USA Workers) immagrants.

Whoa Sam, Where are You?

:)

Most people in the office work through lunch (or surf da intarweb), but everything I've read about productivity (ESPECIALLY for women), the word is to leave the office during your lunch break--even if it's just to walk around the block.

As some one who went to "Wal mart University" I worked my way thru college to earn extra money on the side my mom and were nto sneding but i am here to tell you that wal mart was and still is nortorious for that.

Target on the other hand is very strict in their breaks and lunches or you will be wirtten up if you dont take them