Attorneys for employees who won a $172 million jury verdict against Wal-Mart for not providing paid meal and rest breaks are seeking an injunction to enforce changes in practices at the retailer.
116,000 current and former hourly workers at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in California won their lawsuit against Wal-Mart last December. The suit claimed that Wal Mart had violated their rights under state labor laws by denying them their meal and rest breaks and by secretly deleting hours worked from their paychecks.
An Alameda County Superior Court jury had awarded the plaintiffs $57.3 million in compensatory damages and $115 million in punitive damages. The workers were represented by San Francisco attorney Fred Furth.
Furth is now seeking an injunction ordering Wal-Mart to have all its employees punch in and punch out for their paid rest breaks.
Wal-Mart attorney Neal Manne said "the alleged need to impose the extraordinary remedy of a meal period injunction is moot" because Wal-Mart employees have been able to take their breaks more than 99 percent of the time since mid-2003.
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