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Wal-Mart lunch break verdict: $172,000,000
December 23, 2005 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
In a class-action suit claiming that Wal-Mart did not give California employees a 30 minute lunch break, a jury brought in a verdict of $172,000,000.
The class of employees bringing the suit was about 116,000 Wal-Mart employees and former employees in California.
California law requires an employer to give a 30 minute unpaid lunch break to any employee who works over six hours. The employees claimed Wal-Mart violated that law, and the jury agreed.
The jury heard testimony for four months and deliberated for about three days before reaching a decision.
The verdict was for $57 million in general damages plus $115 million in punitive damages. Wal-Mart claims, among other things, that the California statute does not allow for punitive damages.
Wal-Mart will appeal.
Read more in Yahoo! News and at Law.com.
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Editor: Ross Runkel, Professor of Law Emeritus. email Ross@LawMemo.Com, Phone 503-399-8028. Copyright LawMemo, Inc.
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