Wal-Mart Owes $34 Million for Overtime Violations

Is it any wonder with the on-going staggering amount of labor and employment liability Wal-Mart faces why they have to make the billions of dollars in profit they make in a year? 

Here's the lastest (via HR.BLR.com):

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has agreed to pay nearly $34 million in back wages and interest for calculating overtime incorrectly over a span of almost 5 years.

The agreement with the Department of Labor covers 86,680 employees who worked for the company from February 1, 2002 to January 19, 2007.

The department says that Wal-Mart brought the matter to its attention after an internal audit raised concerns regarding overtime calculations.

Wal-Mart says it failed to include periodic bonuses and other earned income in determining some employees' regular rate of pay for overtime purposes. In addition, some overtime payments were based on a regular rate calculated for each two-week payroll period, when they should have been calculated weekly.

Separately, some errors involved participants in the company's manager and programmer in training programs, who were entitled to overtime pay while in training, the company says.

Two thoughts: (1) kudos to Wal-Mart for bringing this situation voluntarily to the Department of Labor's attention; and (2) Wal-Mart should be spending a lot more money on good labor and employment attorneys who understand the FLSA (assuming that Wal-Mart is bringing these issues to their in-house and outside labor and employment counsel in the first place).  This is very basic stuff that my employment law students would understand.

Interestingly, "[i]n addition to paying back wages, [Wal-Mart] also agreed to set up a website ( http://www.dol.settlement.wal-mart.com ) and to staff a toll-free telephone number to answer questions regarding the back wages."

PS