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Court Certifies Class Action Against Wal-Mart On Behalf Of Pennsylvania Employees

Donovan Searles, LLC has obtained class certification of the missed break and meal period claims it has asserted on behalf of current and former employees of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in Pennsylvania.  In a detailed decision issued on December 27, 2005, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas held that the case may proceed as a representative action on behalf of the nearly 150,000 current and former employees of Wal-Mart stores located in Pennsylvania.  The employees claim that Wal-Mart failed to pay them for missed and shortened meal and break periods.  Trial in the case has been set to start on September 5, 2006.  In response to the decision, Michael Donovan observed that the Court's reasoning recognizes that small individual claims such as those involved in this case can be vindicated only by use of the class action procedure, because the complexity of the issues and the costs of the litigation make the claims uneconomical absent a class action.  To view press reports of the decision, click here. For more information, see Braun v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.