Wage Law

Remember that 2006 Philadelphia jury verdict against Wal-Mart for $78 million? Well, it's grown to $188 million now, including $49,568,541 for the Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL) verdict, $29,178,873.35 for the common law verdict, $62,253,000 for statutory liquidated damages, $33,813,986.24 in WPCL fees, $2,670,325.52 in wage payment and collection law expenses, $29,178,873.35 in common law nonstatutory claims, $10,163,863. in statutory interest, $11,880,589.76 in non-statutory attorney fees and $938,222.48 in nonstatutory expenses. The total cost is over $200 million, however, because Wal-Mart's defense costs included $10,048,944 in attorney fees and $7,006,982 in costs.

Don't feel too bad for Wal-Mart, though. The jury found that Wal-Mart had saved $1,031,430 by not paying their 124,506 employees for the time they worked off the clock, and another $48,258,111 by making them work instead of taking legally required breaks. And it's a pretty safe bet that the case could have been settled for less than the original savings.