Originally published February 7 2006
Wal-Mart to pay $172 million for denying employees lunch breaks
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A civil jury in Oakland, Calif., has declared that Wal-Mart should pay 172 million dollars for cheating employees out of lunch breaks. Wal-Mart has issued a written statement vowing to appeal the verdict.
US retail powerhouse Wal-Mart should pay 172 million dollars for cheating employees out of lunch breaks, a civil jury in the California city of Oakland declared Thursday.
"We are very satisfied," said Chris Lebsock, one of the lawyers representing the 116,000 Wal-Mart workers that sued the company in Alameda County Superior Court.
"The jury found there was malice, fraud and oppression in denying the lunch breaks."
In the wake of the verdict, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer and single largest private employer in the United States, issued a written statement vowing to appeal the verdict.
Wal-Mart conceded it had "compliance issues" regarding giving workers legally-mandated lunch breaks back in 2001, when the civil suit was filed, but said it has since corrected the behavior.
"We appreciate the jurys service, but disagree with its conclusion and will appeal," Wal-Mart said in the release.
The retailer has come under widespread attack in recent years for paying low wages and blocking the unionization of its work force.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml