A federal judge has increased the amount Walmart must pay to drivers involved in a lawsuit to over $60 million dollars.
Late last year, a jury ordered Walmart to fork over $54 million for not paying its drivers minimum wage while they performed non-driving duties such as loading, maintenance, inspections, and more. The decision renewed the age-old debate over how drivers should be compensated for non-driving time.
Walmart claimed that its drivers are among the best paid in the industry, pointing out that most of their drivers earn between $80,000 and $100,000+ per year. Breaking down driver pay for every task they perform would be needlessly complicated according to the company. Their lawyers compared the driver pay structure to a baker making a cake. You don’t pay a baker for each individual task, just for the cake itself.
While Walmart disagreed with the ruling, lawyers for the more than 800 drivers involved in the case went back to the judge to ask for more money. $80 million to be exact.
The judge refused to order the retailer to pay that much, and instead set the amount of additional penalties at $6 million. This brought the total up to over $60 million, still shy of the initial target of $72 million in damages.
“While we still disagree with the jury’s verdict in the case, we’re pleased the judge declined to award any additional penalties,” Walmart said in an emailed statement to Fortune.
Source: truckinginfo, overdrive, spokesman, fortune, truckersreport
Snowman says
At that level of pay, I think further compensation is unnecessary. However, I understand their concern due to all the extra duties us drivers are required to do other than driving. I am a “local” driver and make just as much, but my employer compensates drivers hourly plus mileage and it works out, somedays we may drive more and somedays we may work more so it evens out. It all depends on the demands of your specific job.
Lawrence says
They’re going to need that 80 million
Because 800 Walmart driver’s will be looking for new jobs when this suit is over.this is one company that can afford to lose,and I would not want to be in the crosshairs of them at all.
This company doesn’t forget,
Remember they had the CEOs of all
Their competitors on the wall in Bentonville, when one went out they put a red slash through them.they know who you are and they don’t forget.
Everyone knows that driver pay needs restructuring.it would be hard to get the same pay for everyone. it would be nice to see at least a federal minimum.that would be a start anyway
Gary says
The math doesn’t lie.. 80000 a year and a 70 hour work week is 22 dollars an hour. Let’s say you drive 160000 miles a year at an average of 500 miles a day that took 10 hours the other 4 is docking fueling inspecting breaks, 10 hrs sleeping, 320 days of driving. 2 day reset a month and vacation 5 days that’s 352 days. They pay 50 cents a mile your at 80000. So they want 4 hrs x 7.25 for the year is 9,280 per driver.
Robert says
There is a law that protects them from retaliation firing.
Troglodyte says
I wouldn’t work for Walsmart if they gave me company
Jay says
Hard to not agree with WalMart here,lawyers are parasites,that is a well established fact,when MOST of us drivers agree to drive for MOST or ANY trucking company,we are told what is and isn t compensated,yes,I agree that pay is not enough at most companies,and what driver gets is a slap on the face as pay,BUT,that s what we agreed,if we are going to use lawyers and capricious judges as arbiters,then the ones benefitting is the lawyers,drivers in this WM case ger the short end of the stick,it sends a message to law firms and such parasites to start taking all trucking companies to court.
Norse Queen says
The baker analogy made me laugh, because the baker is actually paid a salary or hourly wage and all of the times that he’s working are compensated for. Not the same as just being paid by the cake, is it?
When I started driving, I was told to never figure up my actual hours to see what I was making hourly, because I’d get depressed. I drove because it was a great way for me to take home more money than if I sat in an office or worked at a fast food place. If the law states that truck drivers are included in the jobs that must receive at least a minimum wage, then that should cover all employers, not just WalMart.
RenoBlues says
So what I get out of this is. The bakers at Walmart work on commission.
Super trucker says
Go work for a moving company and then tell me how unfair your pay system is set up
Super Trucker says
At my terminal we don’t get paid for slipping in a new truck,fueling or washing the company truck! These guys deserve every
penny of that! Some of these guys come to work on their day off to polish rims!