Wal-Mart settles in overtime case

[underpants]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070125/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_overtime;_ylt=Ale60TH5mBFA.vzCJZGGZbtv24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGI2aDNqBHNlYwM3NDk-

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay more than $33 million in back wages to thousands of employees after turning itself in to the Labor Department for paying too little in overtime over the past five years, according to an agreement announced Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department.

Wal-Mart said the department's review of its overtime calculations also found it had overpaid about 215,000 hourly workers during the same five-year period. The company said it will not seek to recover any overpayments, which were at least $20 per worker.

O8)

Simley said Wal-Mart discovered possible mistakes in its formulas for overtime during a regular internal review. He said there was no connection between the company reporting itself to the Labor Department and multiple lawsuits against the retailer in recent years by employees alleging payroll violations.



WakeUpWalMart.com spokesman Chris Kofinis said workers were not represented in the settlement talks and added that the idea that Wal-Mart "would negotiate in the best interests of its workers is ludicrous on its face."

[aggiesal]

1. 1 Overtime Hour = (Hour Salary) x 1.5 ...

Not a very hard calculation.

Excel spreadsheet do an excellent job with these sorts of calculations.
Maybe Walmart should invest in some Excel licenses.

[shain from kane]

2. Where were the auditors? At Enron?

[maddezmom]

3. kick

[cyberpj]

4. Wal-Mart Stores to pay US$33 million for overtime violations in U.S.

Right. They turned themselves in, uh-huh.
If they admit to 33 million, imagine how much the actual total must be!!
This is a total "save your own neck" deal turned into PR release.

Wal-Mart Stores to pay US$33 million for overtime violations in U.S.
Thu Jan 25, 1:06 PM
By Marcus Kabel

NEW YORK (CP) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay US$33 million in back wages to thousands of employees after turning itself in to the Labour Department for paying too little in overtime, according to an agreement announced Thursday.

Steven Mandel, associate solicitor in the Fair Labour Standards Division, said the case - involving nearly 87,000 employees - resulted from Wal-Mart coming to the department in early 2005 and asking for a review of its overtime calculations.

"They had some concern that some of the practices were not in compliance" with federal wage laws, he told a conference call for reporters

cont'd
http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/25012007/2/biz-finance-wal-mart-stores-pay-33-million-overtime-violations.html

[RL3AO]

5. They must owe a billion...at least

[superconnected]

6. If awards got as high as they say in the article, you're probably right

"the highest award to an individual employee was about $39,000, he said.

[newyawker99]

9. Hi RL3AO!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[superconnected]

7. I have to add this:

now walmart can make like Microsoft and take the money owed out of the current workforce.

Pay em less, take away any fringe benefits like a place to eat their lunches. I'm sure they'll find some way to take it out on the workforce, just like microsoft did on their contractor lawsuit.

[cyberpj]

8. More - from MSNBC article: "sweetheart deal that favored the retailer" (anyone shocked?)

One of Wal-Mart’s most vociferous critics, union-backed WakeUpWalMart.com, said the overtime settlement was a sweetheart deal that favored the retailer rather than its workers.

WakeUpWalMart.com spokesman Chris Kofinis said workers were not represented in the settlement talks and added that the idea that Wal-Mart “would negotiate in the best interests of its workers is ludicrous on its face.”

Critics had previously denounced a separate Labor Department settlement with Wal-Mart over child labor violations, which was made public in February 2005.

That $135,540 settlement was later found by the Labor Department’s inspector general to contain significant concessions for the retailer. The inspector general’s report said the settlement was “significantly different” from other such agreements and included far-reaching restrictions on the government’s ability to assess monetary penalties.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16809248/

[gratuitous]

10. Does that include the penalty wage and interest?

Yeah, I'm highly suspicious of this little deal worked out between Wal-Mart and the Bush Labor Department. Under federal and state laws, if an employer doesn't pay its employees all compensation due, there are provisions for a penalty wage (under Oregon state law, one day's pay for each day the wages aren't paid, to a maximum penalty of 30 days' wages) and interest at the legal rate on any unpaid wages. I wonder if the workers just got paid (sort of) what they hadn't been paid, or if they got the full penalty wage and interest. Where was the representation for the workers in this little negotiation?