$54.25 Million Settlement in Minnesota Walmart Wage-and-Hour Class Action

For roughly a decade ending in November 2008, hourly workers at Walmart and Sam's Club stores throughout Minnesota were shorted on rest breaks and, in many cases, required to work off the clock. When those workers sought legal relief, William Sieben of Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben, P.A. joined co-lead counsel from Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand to represent a class that ultimately numbered approximately 100,000 current and former hourly associates.

The case, Braun et al. v. Wal-Mart, centered on two categories of violations: managers cutting employees' mandatory rest and meal breaks short, and a broader practice of having workers perform tasks before clocking in or after clocking out. The covered employment period ran from September 11, 1998, through November 14, 2008.

Dakota County District Court Judge Robert King Jr. ruled against Walmart in July 2008, finding the company had violated Minnesota wage-and-hour law more than two million times. Judge King concluded that the violations were willful, rejecting Walmart's argument that employees had voluntarily missed breaks. Under Minnesota law, willful violations can carry significant per-violation penalties, and plaintiffs' counsel argued the exposure exceeded $2 billion.

With that ruling in hand, the parties negotiated a settlement of up to $54.25 million, which included a portion payable to the State of Minnesota. The Dakota County court granted preliminary approval, with a hearing scheduled for January 14, 2009. As part of the resolution, Walmart also agreed to maintain electronic compliance systems, internal surveys, and posted notices designed to prevent future violations of Minnesota wage statutes.

The Minnesota outcome followed similar wage-and-hour verdicts against Walmart in other states, including a $172 million verdict in California in 2005 and a $78.5 million judgment in Pennsylvania in 2006. The $54.25 million Minnesota settlement covered the full ten-year class period across all Walmart and Sam's Club locations in the state.