Wal-Mart to pay $40 million to settle labor lawsuit in Massachusetts

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) has agreed to pay $40 million to settle a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts that alleged the big-box retailer cheated 87,500 current and former employees in the state out of pay and failed to obey work rules. The class-action suit, filed in 2001, accused Wal-Mart of altering time cards, refusing to pay overtime, and denying workers rest and meal breaks.

Under the terms of the agreement, filed Wednesday in Middlesex Superior Court by attorneys representing employees, anyone who worked for Wal-Mart between August 1995 and the settlement date will receive a payment of between $400 and $2,500, depending on the number of years they worked at the store, The Boston Globe reported on its Web site. The average worker will receive a check for $734, the newspaper said.