Wal-Mart faces more legal problems ahead. Today, the New Jersey supreme court has certified a class action lawsuit against the retailer for claims that the retailer denied workers’ meal breaks, forced them to work off the clock, and forced them to work on the breaks.
More from Forbes (NJ Court Certifies Wal-Mart Class-Action) and the Asbury Park Press (Wal-Mart to face New Jersey class-action pay suit).
This is probably not a good thing for Wal-Mart, as they have previously lost similar class action lawsuits in Pennsylvania and California (I talked about the PA verdict last year). These kinds of cases are a reminder to all other retailers that they have to stay on top of labor practices, and more importantly, they are responsible for what their store-level management is doing. I’m sure Wal-Mart is not the retailer that is at fault, but these high profile cases send ripples through the industry.