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Wal-Mart Accused of Denying Lunch Breaks
Yahoo ^ | 09-19-2005 | AP

Posted on 09/19/2005 6:15:38 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist

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.

Shares of Wal-Mart rose 14 cents to close at $44.01 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: sweatshops; walmartsucks
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

Griping about lunch breaks is a sign of desperation.

Lots of people work through lunch, and eat on the fly.

I smell the AFL-CIO in this.


21 posted on 09/19/2005 6:58:36 PM PDT by sinkspur (It is time for those of us who have much to share with those who have nothing.)
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To: since1868

Its intresting, Wal Mart has done EVERYTHING that Wall Street has asked it to do in terms of emplyee costs, taking extreme measures, and you know what, Wal Marts stock is still in the toilet, whatever they are doing, it is not working, and the low employee morale I see is very clerly reflected in the Wal Marts I go to, and that is reflected in the poor conditions I see various displays and upkeep in.


22 posted on 09/19/2005 7:11:45 PM PDT by RFT1
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To: RFT1

They hired a new guy from Target,he is going to change the stores. Make them more appitizing.


23 posted on 09/19/2005 7:19:34 PM PDT by since1868
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To: since1868

What's a lunch break?


24 posted on 09/19/2005 7:19:58 PM PDT by American Vet Repairman (Will unite terrorists with virgins for free.)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

Wal-Mart impregnated my sister.

I'll never shop there again.


25 posted on 09/19/2005 7:23:24 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (When a Jihadist dies, an angel gets its wings)
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To: since1868

Unless employee morale imporves, the stores will not imporve. The same exact thing happened to K Mart in the 80s and 90s, and its reputation for poor service damaged its bottom line. People are willing to spend 10%-15% extra on items, in some cases even more than that to avoid bad customer service, a dirty atmosphere and long waits at the register.


26 posted on 09/19/2005 7:29:32 PM PDT by RFT1
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To: American Vet Repairman

A lunch break is a 30 minuite period of time an employer is requried to give their employees. I know some disagree with such notions, but the law is the law.


27 posted on 09/19/2005 7:30:48 PM PDT by RFT1
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To: since1868
Lunch is for wimps GG

I haven't had a lunch break at work in 15 years.

28 posted on 09/19/2005 7:38:10 PM PDT by meyer (The DNC prefers advancing the party at the expense of human lives.)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
"Lawyers representing about 116,000 former and current Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employees in California..."

I wonder how they got them all into the office...

29 posted on 09/19/2005 7:43:49 PM PDT by meyer (The DNC prefers advancing the party at the expense of human lives.)
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To: Porterville
They should try being a public school teacher. I work through the day w/o any breaks. I also work weekends w/o additional pay. So the Wally World folks have it pretty good in my opinion.

I do not believe you really meant what you posted. I cannot believe someone, who has very good benefits and very good pay compared to the average employee at WalMart, would claim the WalMart employees have it pretty good. You are the one who has it pretty good, on the taxpayers dime, too! Come on now, get real.

30 posted on 09/19/2005 7:52:21 PM PDT by rawhide
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
Lets see.

66 million dollars divided by 166 thousand employees equals: 397.59 per employee

Of course I'm forgetting the Attorney's fees which should come to one third of the settlement (22 million)

So, revised:

22 million for the lawyers and 265.06 for each individual employee.

31 posted on 09/19/2005 7:55:12 PM PDT by lowbridge
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To: lowbridge
Whoops, that was 116 thousand, not 166 employees:

So, 22 million for the lawyers and 379.31 for each employee.

32 posted on 09/19/2005 7:57:31 PM PDT by lowbridge
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

Wally world is out there in the gulf states helping the victims with everything they could possibly want. This is anti corp. liberal crap as ususal.


33 posted on 09/19/2005 7:59:08 PM PDT by ladyinred (It is all my fault okay?)
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To: rawhide

Do you teach? Have you tried? Have you tried getting your licsense? Do you work with people? Then you do not know. Besides, I make my world, I, "Do not have it pretty good" as you put it. Everything I have, every dime I invest, every minute, every degree and diploma and every step I make are sacrifice decided upon by me. Cry me a river if you do not understand. My strength does not lie in any one area or any one dimension of minor issues. If I had a job elsewhere I would be the best and would not complain. Because I would be doing what I wanted, always.


34 posted on 09/19/2005 7:59:40 PM PDT by Porterville (All that liberal screaming you hear is the sound of communism dying...)
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To: ladyinred

It SOUNDS like it is squarely based upon the law. If so, then it doesn't matter whether it's Wal Mart or Joe's Submarine Sandwich Shop.


35 posted on 09/19/2005 8:11:01 PM PDT by The Red Zone (Florida, the sun-shame state, and Illinois the chicken injun.)
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To: Milly

I work at Wal-Mart and recently they fired a guy at my store that would clock back in from lunch then would spend an additional 2 hours or so in the break room not working. He got away with this for a short time but was caught.
We have to take a mandatory lunch break according to the 6 hour rule mentioned in the story. I really don;t know where this stuff comes from.


36 posted on 09/19/2005 8:18:23 PM PDT by Captain Peter Blood
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To: Porterville
There is no way you can tell me that your job, with all the benefits you have and the pay you receive, is not as good a job as a person who works at WalMart. No way!
You need to come off your NEA brainwashing mentality that teachers have it so bad our country in terms of pay, benefits, and the amount of work they are required to put into their job. Cry me a river!
I for one am getting sick and tired of so many teachers who whine, cry and bellyache, because they want more and more money. They cry that they have to work so many long hours, without little rest and relaxation. Then their weekends are filled with many hours of work. These are the teachers who complain that the reason for the poor results coming out of the public schools, is because the government is not throwing enough money their way.
You, my friend, need to get out into the real world, and work for a private sector job, like a job at WalMart that you seem to admire, and then maybe you will understand who really has it better. And then maybe you will appreciate the benefits you have, the vacation given you throughout the year, and in the summer months, and finally the pay you get for the amount of work you are required to do.
I say it again you are the one who has it better than the WalMart employee!
PS: I still cannot believe you are comparing your job to the average worker at WalMart, looking at the pay, benefits, and work, and coming up with the conclusion they have it better than you. And you call yourself a teacher?
37 posted on 09/19/2005 8:24:22 PM PDT by rawhide
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To: netmilsmom

Task assignment. You have got to be kidding. Give a person nine hours work and tell them it must be done in six.
You say they must give up their lunch or stay over. Do they get paid for either or do we just let the communist chinese's best friend work their employees without pay.


38 posted on 09/19/2005 8:26:06 PM PDT by em2vn
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To: netmilsmom
Hey, my hubby is on Customer Calls of his computer company. He hasn't had a lunch in 7 years.

I pack him PB&J that he eats between calls.

These workers are whiners.

I know how that works... I'm a field service engineer for a computer company, and when I eat lunch, it's usually while I'm driving to a client site. Most days, I just don't have time for lunch.

Mark

39 posted on 09/19/2005 8:28:44 PM PDT by MarkL (I didn't get to where I am today by worrying about what I'd feel like tomorrow!)
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To: rawhide

If you could read I think you would see that the comment was about the number of hours worked, not wages, or benefits.
Teachers do put in very long hours on many days. Much of their work is done at home preparing for the next day's lessons and grading papers.
It seems to be an article of faith on FR that teachers are all lazy bums. Such a belief is as valid as saying that all who post on FR know what they are talking about.


40 posted on 09/19/2005 8:30:49 PM PDT by em2vn
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