WALMART has agreed to a $2.5 million settlement to resolve complaints that it did not adequately compensate employees.
A class action complaint alleged that about 81,000 Walmart employees were not paid for time spent undergoing Covid-19 screenings.
Mandatory screenings lasted between 10 and 15 minutes and took place before each shift.
Employees would wait in line to take temperatures and answer questions about health and travel, according to the complaint.
If everything was ok, they would go to the back of the store and clock in.
Arizona employees sought payment for this time under state wage laws.
The plaintiffs alleged that the pre-shift screenings were necessary for their work and “to ensure a safe environment for Walmart customers.”
Walmart agreed to pay $2.5 million to resolve the issue, and in return, employees released their collective claims against the company.
Arizona workers who participated in pre-work health screenings from April 20, 2020 through February 28, 2022 are eligible to receive payment.
The settlement will offer each class member approximately 50% of their potential claim based on the number of weeks they worked during that period.
SALARY PROBLEMS
The court that approved the settlement noted that the payment was “substantial” compared to similar cases.
In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employees seeking compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act for off-the-clock work must comply with a specific standard.
The justices unanimously rejected warehouse workers’ claims that the FLSA entitled them to be paid for time spent checking baggage during meal breaks and after the exit point.
The court justified its decision by saying that baggage checking was not a “main activity” that was “integral and indispensable” to the employees’ work.
But in 2022, Apple employees claimed they were entitled to wages for passing bag checks when they left the store for breaks or at the end of their shift.
Apple told employees that they must remain on site before their bags were checked in and warned that they could be disciplined or even fired if they did not submit to screening.
What is the Fair Labor Standards Act?
The FLSA was enacted in 1938 to create the right to a minimum wage.
The law also guarantees “time and a half” overtime pay when people work more than 40 hours a week.
The FLSA was critical to child safety as it prohibits the employment of minors in “oppressive child labor.”
The law covers employees in the private and federal sectors.
Apple agreed to pay $30.4 million to settle a similar class action lawsuit in California.
California’s highest court concluded that the workers were entitled to compensation because they were “clearly under Apple’s control while on hold and during exit searches.”
The judge in the Walmart case made a similar ruling, noting that temperature checks were necessary for employees’ primary work and “to ensure a safe environment for Walmart customers.
Costco also faces a $2 million settlement, and shoppers don’t need receipts to file a claim.
Another deal offers Americans up to $650 if they scan their fingerprints into a specific system.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
