California law stipulates that employers are required to provide an accurate itemized statement “in writing” showing gross wages, total hours worked, deductions, net wages, pay period dates and other information. Wage statements are to be a detachable part of a check or a separate document. As well, plaintiffs claim the non-compliant wage statements and other policies violate the California Unfair Competition Law which prohibits unfair business practices. If you believe that your employer is not providing wage statements necessary to understand the breakdown of how you’re getting paid, such as hourly rates, overtime, bonuses, deductions and taxes, you may be owed that information and compensation.
The $35 million settlement affects approximately 265,000 current and former employees, or hourly associates, who worked at a Walmart store in California between Sept. 13, 2016, and July 26, 2021. After deductions – including over $11.6 million in attorney fees, and about $250,000 as reimbursement of expenses—individuals are eligible for an average payout of $80. (The deadline for exclusion and objection was October 2022.)
Evans v. Walmart Class Action Lawsuit
In September 2017, Plaintiff James Evans filed the wage-and- hour lawsuit, and subsequently a First Amended Complaint, entitled “James S. Evans v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.” Case No. 2:17-cv-07641-AB-KK in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles accusing Walmart of:
- failure to include bonuses in its workers' hourly and overtime wages
- failure to provide hourly wages
- failure to pay vacation or holiday pay
- failure to provide accurate written wage statements
- failure to pay all final wages on time
- unfair competition in violation of Business and Professions Code
In November 2019 U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr certified two classes of Walmart employees. One class accused the retail giant of failure to pay the correct amount for overtime work and the second class --with about 200,000 members-- of failure to provide proper wage statements. The former proposed class was denied and the latter was granted. In April 2021 Walmart and its employees agreed to settle the complaint.
$35 Million Walmart Settlement
Walmart denied any wrongdoing and contended that Plaintiff’s claims do not have merit and do not meet the requirements for class certification. After more than five years of litigation, however, the parties determined that the $35M Settlement is “fair, reasonable, and adequate and is in the best interests of the members of the Settlement Class…The Settlement is not an admission of liability on the part of Walmart. The Court has not ruled on the merits of Plaintiff’s claims or Walmart’s defenses….Walmart will not fire, punish, retaliate, or otherwise discriminate against any employee because he or she chooses to participate in this settlement, chooses not to participate, or objects to the settlement,” according to court documents.