Warehouse Workers Win Millions In Labor Law Settlement
A contractor for Wal-Mart recently agreed to fork over nearly $5 million to help settle a lawsuit that was filed by 568 warehouse workers in Southern California. The case claimed that the workers were underpaid and routinely prevented from taking required rest and meal breaks.
A federal judge overseeing the claims announced that the settlement had been approved meaning that the workers should expect to receive money shortly. The settlement was reached between Schneider Logistics and employees working at the company’s warehouse in Mira Loma.
Schneider Logistics was a company that Wal-Mart used to handle the operation of its warehouses in the Southern California region. Goods were sent to the warehouses from manufacturers and workers were in charge of shipping them out to retail stores in the region whenever supply demanded it.
Workers began coming together in early 2012, voicing widespread frustration with the conditions they were forced to endure with Schneider Logistics. In March of that year, a group of employees finally decided to file suit, claiming that Schneider had routinely shorted them on overtime pay as well as denied them mandatory breaks. Beyond the diminished overtime pay, employees also said that Schneider unfairly lowered their regular hourly pay.
The lawsuit claimed that Schneider stole not only money from the employees who badly needed it, but also stole their time. Though it might not seem like a big deal, when employers deprive workers of breaks for meals or even just for rest, these relatively small amounts of time can add up to significant amounts of money over the long-term. Not only are workers forced to endure long, hard days without sufficient time to rest and recover, but they are also denied fair compensation for the time they spend working for uncaring employers.
The suit claimed that supervisors at Schneider would routinely falsify employee time cards, an attempt to avoid paying workers the overtime they deserved. The brave workers that made the decision to file suit deserve credit for standing up to their employer and their employer’s employer, Wal-Mart. Doing so risked their jobs, but has now resulted in an important victory for employees.
Advocates for workers have applauded the settlement and say that the warehouse industry is one that has frequently been found to tolerate such labor violations. The $4.7 million settlement will help compensate workers for the money they had taken by Schneider. Additionally, the hope is that the money works to dissuade other companies, whether in the warehouse business or elsewhere, to refrain from stealing their employees’ time and money.
Source: “Wal-Mart contractor to pay $4.7 million to settle lawsuit by workers,” by Stuart Pfeifer, published at LATimes.com on December 11, 2013.
Source: “Walmart Contractor Agrees To $4.7 Million Settlement Over Wage Theft Allegations,” by Dave Jamieson, published at HuffingtonPost.com on December 1, 2013.
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