It took eight years to get through the court system, but a Clinton County judge has approved an $11-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit over alleged wage violations by Wal-Mart. The case started in 2001 when two former hourly employees of the Wal-Mart in Clinton filed a lawsuit claiming the company failed to compensate workers for off-the-clock work and overtime, altered employee time records and prevented employees from taking lunch and rest breaks.
The lawsuit was one of 63 pending cases in 42 states against Wal-Mart. The settlement in the Iowa case was granted final approval on Tuesday. The case involved over 97,000 former and current hourly employees who worked at Wal-Mart stores and Sams Club stores in Iowa between June 5, 1999, and May 9, 2009. The lawsuit claimed the company failed to compensate employees for off-the-clock work and overtime, altered employee time records and prevented employees from taking lunch and rest breaks.
Those affected must file a claim and could received from $25 dollars to $300 with an average expected to be just over $100. In addition to the monetary terms of the settlement, Wal-Mart agreed to Iowa store technology upgrades to prevent hourly employees from working off the clock and during breaks.
Wal-Mart, headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., continues to deny allegations that the company violated its own policies and state law by failing to pay its employees for all time they worked.
Details of the settlement are available on-line at “walmartiaclassaction.com“.
Contributed by Dave Vickers, KROS, Clinton