Santa Clara, CA: $54 million in damages has been awarded by a California federal jury against Wal-mart in an employment lawsuit brought by 839 truckers.
The lawsuit alleges the big box retailer violated California labor laws as well as federal labor law by failing to compensate its drivers for pre- and post-trip inspections and California-required rest breaks. The jury found in favor of the truckers on those charges, but did not award damages for time spent washing trucks, fueling, weighing the trucks' load, waiting at vendor and store locations, performing adjustments, complying with U.S. Department of Transportation inspections, or meeting with driver coordinators.
Additionally, the jury found that the drivers were under Wal-Mart’s control during federally mandated 10-hour layover breaks. The truckers alleged that during these breaks, for which they were required to stay with their trucks, they were paid $42 for the time, not the $67 to $90 they would have earned had they been paid minimum wage during the class period. The jury awarded the drivers $44.7 million in compensation.
Determinations for penalties and liquidated damages have yet to be made. Attorneys for the truckers stated that should the court find that Wal-Mart’s defense was not carried out in good faith, the jury’s award would be doubled. Further, the jury found Wal-Mart intentionally failed to pay class members for more than 100,000 pay periods, and that, according to the class attorneys’ math, each unpaid period will carry a $250 fine, adding approximately $25 million to the total settlement figure.
The case is Ridgeway et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. et al., case number 3:08-cv-05221, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
