Wal-Mart finally held accountable

A court in Pennsylvania finally held Wal-Mart accountable for violating labor laws.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, must pay at least $78.5 million for violating Pennsylvania labor laws by forcing employees to work through rest breaks and off the clock, a jury found Friday.

Similar abuses are found in Wal-Mart stores across the country:

The Bentonville, Ark.-based company is facing a slew of similar suits around the country. Wal-Mart is appealing a $172 million verdict in a California case and settled a Colorado suit for $50 million.

It's about time our justice system starts trying to force Wal-Mart to clean up its act. Wal-Mart has built a multi-billion dollar company by shortchanging workers like Dolores Hummel:

Lead plaintiff Dolores Hummel, a single parent, said she worked at a Sam's Club in Reading for 10 years to support her son. Over the years, the pressure to get more work done intensified, she said. Hummel said she worked eight to 12 unpaid hours a month, on average, to meet work demands.

"It had to be done, all these class actions, to show how we were treated working at Wal-Mart — working off the clock and not getting paid," said Hummel, 53. "It was all about production."

She was fired in 2002 after complaining about working conditions, she said.

The Wal-Mart attorney gets the brass balls of the year award for the arguments he used against punishing Wal-Mart. He actually had the nerve to argue that employees are working without breaks because they want to.

Wal-Mart attorney Neal S. Manne said the company plans to appeal both the class certification and the jury's findings.

"I think a lot of employees who had short or missed breaks did it by personal choice," Manne told jurors in closing arguments Friday.

Oh yes, there is nothing more a parent would rather do than make more money for one of the richest family in America. I'm sure Dolores was happy to work for free instead of spending time with her son.

You can find the rest of the story here.