If it is approved by the judge, a preliminary settlement will resolve a lawsuit that was originally filed back in 2011 by six workers who are employed by Schneider Logistics in the Inland Empire area of Southern California. According to a report by Bloomberg News, these warehouse workers in California allege that they were systematically shorted on pay for years.
A Walmart contractor that operates many of the retailer’s distribution centers has agreed to pay $21 million in back pay to the workers, according to the Huffington Post. However, the settlement won’t be coming out of Walmart’s pockets. The Walmart Company is the world’s largest public corporation, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2014, the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees, and the largest retailer in the world.
One of the plaintiffs, David Acosta, said in a statement quoted on the Huffington Post that, “This settlement vindicates us.” David Acosta has said that “When we raised these issues, we knew it would be a fight. Schneider tried to fire us. Walmart tried to deny responsibility. But we knew that the law was on our side.”
One of lawyers for the plaintiffs, Lauren Teukolsky, told the Huffington Post that, “We’re thrilled.” “The workers are going to be receiving the wages that were stolen from them,” she stated.
“Walmart’s name does not appear on any of these workers’ paychecks, and the Walmart logo does not appear on the t-shirts they’re required to wear,” Michael Rubin, one of the workers’ lawyers, said when the plaintiffs petitioned the court to include Walmart. “But it has become increasingly clear that the ultimate liability for these workplace violations rests squarely on the shoulders of Walmart.”
Wal-Mart also faces probes by U.S. and Mexican investigators into alleged bribery, according to Reuters, including whether the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The U.S. Congress also investigated the matter.
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