Wal-Mart, the grocery chain and retailer giant, was just sued for owed wages by a class of manual workers. These affected manual workers include hourly cashiers, front end associates, stockers, receiving associates, sales associates, and other manual laborers in similar positions (collectively, “Manual Workers”) who work or have worked as manual workers for Wal-Mart in New York State. The class action lawsuit seeks to recover untimely wage compensation and other damages in accordance with the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”).
These Manual Workers claim that despite having mostly physically focused job duties, the retail giant compensated them on a bi-weekly basis in direct violation of the NYLL. This New York law specifically requires that manual workers be paid all their wages within seven calendar days after the last day in which they were earned. Due to the fact that these Manual Workers were completing physical tasks for more than twenty-five percent of their shifts, Wal-Mart should have been paying them on a weekly basis. Some of these duties include but are not limited to: physically hauling items purchased by customers, placing purchased items into bags, sweeping floors, wiping down work stations, stocking shelves, arranging inventory and standing for long periods of time. Additionally, the chain failed to provide them with accurate wage statements specifying the amount of hours they worked per week, which is also required by the NYLL. These alleged violations entitle affected Manual Workers to recover the amount of their untimely paid wages as liquidated damages, statutory penalties of two hundred fifty dollars for each workday that Wal-Mart failed to provide them with accurate wage statements, or a total of five thousand dollars each, as well as reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
Unfortunately, many manual workers, including those in the retail industry, are getting paid every two weeks even though laws in New York require they be paid every week. You may be eligible to join this lawsuit if you work or have worked as a Manual Worker for Wal-Mart Associates, Inc. in New York between May 29, 2014 and the date of final judgment in this matter. To find out more, you can reach out to our firm, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP, at (212) 300-0375 or visit our website here. For additional information about your rights working in the retail industry, do not hesitate to call us for a free and confidential consultation as well.
You can also view the complaint here.