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.
So all the work for my 2 BA's my MBA my teaching certification, the 3 large investments I'm involved and the other sacrifices I have made mean nothing to you because you are so easily blinded by liberal propaganda.
I have to be creative to put together what I have, period. I had to leave behind easy choices. One easy choice would have been to get a job at a place like Wal Mart. But you can't see it.
I teach and own. I juggle two. I mapped, I planned, I have.
At least she didn't get bit by a moose.
One note on the privat sector. I own real estate in CA on the coast on my own dime. I'm working on my 4th purchase. I'm under 32. What is that about the private sector and real world? I hope to own large portions of it before I die~~~~
>>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.<<
Have you ever worked there?
I had a Christmas job and NEVER had to give up a lunch. I got my work done in the alloted time.
I did however see the social butterflies lose their jobs because they didn't do it.
My niece worked there full time while in Police Academy. She also loved the policy. She had worked retail before and hated when people stood around. As she said, workers are forced to work.
If they want to talk for hours they have already had the paid breaks and lunch.
And if they don't like it, there's lots of other retail to work.
Exactly the reason I refuse to shop at my local Wal-Mart. While it is cheaper by far than most grocery stores and is only 1 mile from my home, I prefer to shop at my local Publix.
Wal-mart here is filthy, their employees are only hired after promising to be as rude, slow and obnoxious as possible. Lines are usually an half-hour to an hour wait to check out.
At Publix, they have friendly and helpful staff. The store is always clean and well stocked, lines are always fully stocked with cashiers and wait times in minimal. They even bring my packages to my car and load them. I'll pay a bit more for a store like that.
You nailed it. The liberals hate WalMart about as much as they did Microsoft. Any time they think a company is getting too big, they begin the punishment phase. Remember AT&T, Ford as in SUV's, and was it Goodyear tires? Now they are after WalMart. DU is always talking about boycotting WalMart and the kicker, WalMart gave almost all of their contribution money to Republicans in the 2004 election.
She got bit by a moose too. Inside Wal-Mart. Same day Wal-Mart impregnated her.
I just didn't mention it earlier because I didn't want folks to think I was whining.
My heart goes out to you Mark.
I pack for my hubby. I double it on Monday and Wednesdays when he has college classes.
He gets there at 8:30 and leaves at 6:30.
Salary is a bite sometimes.
Got to watch out for them loose mooses in WalMart.
Check out my post 44.
Lazy people get fired.
Neither do I and I have witnessed the same thing in our store.
I survived. I kept a protein bar and drink within reach, and I blew through the day.
Best yet, I get paid for it all! What are these people whining about?
Well, congratulations on achieving the degrees. But there you go again, emphasizing about the sacrifices you have made in your job choice, and I am suppose to applaud you, because of your sacrifices? No way! You chose to do what you are doing just like I and others have chosen our work. Everyone of us makes decisions that involve trade offs and sacrifices concerning our jobs. That does necessarily make us heroes or saints. It is a personal decision, motivated by many factors. So get off your high horse, telling everyone about the sacrifices you have made by becoming a teacher.
you are so easily blinded by liberal propaganda
What in the world are you talking about? I do not see any liberals agreeing with me.
I teach and own. I juggle two. I mapped, I planned, I have.
Your replies do not make sense to me. When I read your posts, I see liberal nonsense written throughout. You cannot even write complete coherent sentences. And you call yourself a teacher? I pity your students.
Geez, rawhide, I think you need to lighten up a bit.
I didn't perceive Porterville's comments as whining, just stating facts.
My father was a high school teacher throughout his career, having retired quite a few years ago. My dad worked his rear-end off during the school year pretty much 24/7, grading, planning, etc. He cared about his students and it showed. There are some that still call on him today they admired him so much.
I learned from him that being a teacher is tough, but rewarding.
There's no clock to punch in and out and you can just forget your day, not if you care about your students. You're pretty much on the job all of the time.
That said, he and my mother are staunch conservatives, as am I. He'd probably get in trouble today for his non-PC attitude regarding swearing and other offensive behavior. He did earn their respect, which would be no easy job in today's culture.
Bill Clinton owns WalMart?
imporve = improve
courtesy of the spelling police
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