labor lawAdivision of labor law center

A recently settled lawsuit involving violations of federal and Delaware minimum wage laws will cost Wal-Mart $33 million. This money is back pay and interest that Wal-Mart will pay to almost 87,000 workers. These workers reside in Delaware and throughout the United States.

The suit was brought against Wal-Mart by the U.S. Department of Labor. It refers only to certain violations and doesn’t impact any private lawsuits against the corporate giant. Moreover, this recent settlement doesn’t impact the ability of workers to file their complaints with the U.S. Department of Labor.

The settlement resolves a dispute on how some salaried employees were paid. These employees included manager trainees, interns, and programmer trainees. These employees often were paid low wages yet they worked long hours. According to the ruling by the US Department of Labor, these workers actually were “non-exempt salaried” employees. When employees are “non-exempt salaried,” they are entitled to be paid for overtime.

Whether the salaried employees are entitled to overtime depends on the duties assigned to their jobs. New guidelines adopted in recent years affect employees whose weekly earnings are less than $455 ($23,660 per year).

These guidelines require that employees who earn less than $455 per week be paid overtime for any hours over the normal 40. If employees earn more than $455 per week, they still may be entitled to overtime pay if they do not have the power to make significant decisions regarding a department, store, or division.

The case against Wal-Mart related to employees who had limited power to make decisions, had no employees to supervise, and yet still worked long hours. In some cases, the salaries of these employees were much less that $23,660.

Employers have tried before to avoid paying employees overtime. Over twenty years ago, Howard Johnson’s would hire “assistant managers” who were required to work 80 or more hours a week. They were found guilty of making these employees work long hours without paying them properly.

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