An appeals courts in Colorado has given Wal-Mart a second chance to explain why it should not have to pay some of its own pharmacists for the overtime they put in on the Wal-Mart plantation. According to the Associated Press, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals this week ordered a new hearing in the Wal-Mart case. The court said that a federal judge who earlier ruled against Wal-Mart in the multi-million dollar overtime lawsuit case, should reconsider the case. Wal-Mart was sued by its own pharmacists, who claimed that the company had “adjusted” their salary and hours frequently, turning them into hourly workers, who should have received time and a half for overtime work. Normally, salaried employees are not allowed overtime pay. Wal-Mart argued that the U.S. Department of Labor has allowed companies to adjust salaried employees’ pay if economic conditions warrant. In 1999 a Denver Court ruled that Wal-Mart had broken federal law by classifying pharmacists as salaried employees. But this week, a 3 judge panel said that employers can adjust salaries — but if those changes are made too often, the employees should be reclassified as hourly workers. If Wal-Mart loses the case, it could face back wages in the range of $140 million. This is a class action lawsuit that was initiated ten years ago by a Wal-Mart pharmacits, Jerry Archuleta, and two other pharmacists from Colorado. Wal-Mart is being sued in 35 states for various violations of overtime pay.
For similar stories about Wal-Mart treatment of worker overtime, search Newsflash by “overtime” or “lawsuits”.
