Schneider Logistics and Walmart Slapped with Lawsuit for Failure to Pay Overtime
Aug 22, 2014
Sacramento, CA (Law Firm Newswire) August 22, 2014 – California law dictates all workers must be paid for overtime, but employers are frequently ignoring the mandate.
“We’re seeing an increase in unpaid overtime and wage lawsuits,” reported Sacramento business attorney, Deborah Barron. “Companies in the unethical habit of violating the laws are not paying workers either overtime or their regular salary.”
Interestingly enough, bigger companies seem to flout the law most often. A recent case between Walmart and Schneider Logistics ultimately ended in a $21 million settlement.
The suit was launched in 2011, and it represented over 1,800 workers at various Schneider facilities. One of the allegations stated that the company did not pay its workers for all hours worked. “Plaintiffs indicated they often logged 16-hour days every day of the week. Allegedly, they were not allowed mandatory breaks, not paid overtime and did not even receive minimum wage,” Barron added.
Schneider’s is paying the whole of the settlement, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. Although Walmart was not, at first, a named defendant, it was added later, with a judge finding that they could be liable as a co-employer due to their significant control over warehouse operations. Walmart objected to that suggestion. “Which is no real surprise,” commented Barron. “Whether they used a third-party or not to handle warehouse operations, the key point is their level of involvement in directing what went on at the Schneider warehouse.”
A second, similar case involving Schneider Logistics is also interesting to observe. In Franklin Quezada v. Schenider Logistics Transloading and Distribution at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, it came to light that approximately 560 Schneider workers alleged their wages were illegally docked and that they did not receive overtime pay. The lawsuit settled for $4.7 million and came with a judge’s opinion that said Schneider’s actions were “fundamentally misleading and deceptive.”
The economy remains shaky, but this is no reason to penalize hardworking people who need their wages to take care of their families. “If you find yourself in a situation like either of these two cases, my office is able to assist you in understanding your legal rights,” said Barron.
Learn more at http://www.lawbarron.com/
Barron Law Corporation
1900 Point West Way, Suite 202
Sacramento, CA 95815
Phone: 916-486-1712
http://www.lawbarron.com
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