Labor & Employment Law

Wal-Mart's Wage And Hour Issues Continue In Massachusetts

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts reversed an order decertifying a class of current and former Wal-Mart hourly workers who claimed that Wal-Mart failed to provide meal period and rest breaks as required by law. Salvas v. Wal-Mart (Mass. 9/23/08) The Court held:

We conclude, inter alia, that the judge abused his discretion in allowing Wal-Mart's motions to exclude the testimony of the plaintiffs' expert and to decertify the class. We further conclude that the judge erred in granting partial summary judgment to Wal-Mart. We remand the case for the entry of an order certifying the class and for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

This overturns one of Wal-Mart’s few victories, and I have to agree with Michael Fox (not the actor) that this opinion will probably generate more wage and hour class action litigation – and not just here in California.

Full post as published by California Labor & Employment Defense Blog on September 30, 2008 (boomark / email).