CORPORADOS

JURY APPROVES $78 MILLION PENALTY FOR WAL-MART'S MISTREATMENT OF
EMPLOYEES

AP - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, must pay at
least $78.5 million for violating Pennsylvania labor laws by forcing
employees to work through rest breaks and off the clock, a jury found
yesterday. Plaintiffs' lawyer Michael Donovan will seek another $62
million in damages because the jury found that Wal-Mart acted in bad
faith. Common Pleas Judge Mark Bernstein is expected to rule on that
issue in the next few weeks. The jury awarded the exact amount the
plaintiffs sought, rejecting Wal-Mart's claim that some employees chose
to work through breaks and that the loss of a few minutes' pay here or
there was insignificant. "It should send a message to corporate America
that you can't say one thing and do another ... and that you should put
people ahead of profits," Mr. Donovan said. . . "This has set a
benchmark for what the rest of these cases are worth," said lawyer
Franklin D. Azar of Aurora, Colo., who worked on the California and
Colorado cases. "I've seen them change with the filing of these
lawsuits," Mr. Azar said. "They've done a lot of stuff to basically
clean up."

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