Wal-Mart Working Conditions Prompts Overtime Class Action Lawsuit

Chicago, ILWal-Mart is facing an unpaid overtime class action lawsuit brought by temporary employees who allege they are not paid for arriving early, staying late, or working through their lunch or rest breaks.

The lawsuit alleges that Wal-Mart and two staffing agencies are in violation of minimum wage and overtime laws which could affect several hundred temporary workers in the Chicagoland area.

The unpaid overtime lawsuit further claims that Wal-Mart failed to pay temporary workers a minimum of four hours' pay on days a laborer was contracted to work, but was not utilized for a minimum of four hours.

Wal-Mart has been the focus of numerous labor-related class actions, and in 2008 settled dozens of federal and state wage-related lawsuits for $640 million. In 2011, a gender discrimination class action lawsuit brought against the retail giant by its female employees was thrown out by the US Supreme Court- the court ruled that the lawsuit could not proceed as a national class action.

There are reports that Wal-Mart workers are planning to walk off the job on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day after Thanksgiving, in protest of Wal-Mart’s working conditions.