Walmart Will Pay $2.5M for Class-Action COVID Settlement

Walmart will have to pay $2.5 million to 80,000 people after a federal judge signed off on an order involving a wage-and-hour lawsuit with COVID-19 screenings.

Bloomberg Law reports that the dispute that has been going on for more than three years concluded on Monday, July 15, when Judge Susan M. Brnovich gave the parties final approval on their settlement deal. The class members, under the direction of Kathy Arrison and Tristan Smith, will make public their allegations that Walmart broke labor laws by neglecting to pay workers for time spent performing health tests linked to the pandemic and by failing to maintain proper records of such work.

“Plaintiffs entered settlement negotiations from a strong position, and were able to negotiate a fair and adequate settlement for the class,” Brnovich wrote in her order.

According to the judgment, the settlement is reasonable given the strength of the plaintiffs’ case, the dangers and complications of additional litigation, and the possibility of upholding class status for more than 80,000 workers at trial.

According to Brnovich, the settlement agreement also includes approximately $118,000 in counsel reimbursements and $625,000 for legal fees. Smith and Arrison will get $5,000 rewards for their services. Simpluris, the settlement administrator, will get about $207,000.

This is just the latest lawsuit faced by the retail giant. Earlier this month, it was revealed that Walmart was dealing with a class action lawsuit over inaccurate price labels.

A decision rendered on July 3 by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago is the basis for the class-action complaint. Yoram Kahn, an Ohio resident, filed the case, claiming that Walmart engaged in a “bait-and-switch” strategy in which prices at checkout were greater than those shown on the shelves by using false price labels.

The ruling of the Chicago court permits customers to file lawsuits under different consumer protection statutes. The lawsuit also mentioned earlier incidents. Walmart was fined $2 million by a California court in 2012 for “violating a 2008 ruling requiring it to resolve pricing errors at checkout.” Additionally, two North Carolina stores were fined in 2021 for “repeated” and “excessive” price-scanner errors that led to overcharging customers.