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January 26th, 2007 
James Peters Yesterday, it was reported that Wal-Mart had reached a settlement with the Department of Labor to settle unpaid overtime claims by its employees.
The odd thing about this settlement is that Wal-Mart turned itself in to the Department of Labor and negotiated a quick settlement with the government and the employees had no say in what they settled for.
Apparently, the settlement included absolutely NO penalties, NO interest and it is unclear whether the employees are even getting anywhere near what they are actually owed in unpaid overtime.
A case where an employer admits they broke the law and turns themselves in for it would usually be an easy case to win. Also, federal law allows courts to double the amount of overtime wages due as a penalty for not paying those wages in the first place. It looks as though these employees are actually receiving less than half of what they are owed.
The California labor commissioner is now apparently negotiating with Wal-Mart to settle overtime claims against the company under California law. It would be in these employees' best interest to seek out their own personal legal counsel so that they get every penny they deserve.
Thank you to Wake Up Wal-Mart for the additional information.
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[...] Take that Manson quote above fines and penalties. As James Peters at the California Employee Rights Blog explains: A case where an employer admits they broke the law and turns themselves in for it would usually be an easy case to win. [...]