(Newser)
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The Labor Department has ordered Walmart to pay $4.8 million in back wages to around 4,500 workers it short-changed between 2004 and 2007. Over that span, Walmart had refused to pay overtime to its vision-center managers and asset-protection coordinators, for some reason believing them exempt from federal regulations requiring overtime pay, the Washington Post explains. The government disagreed, and has been negotiating since 2007 on how much it should pay in retribution.
The final amount isn't much of a windfall; asset-protection coordinators will only pocket an average of $290 each, while vision-center managers will get an average $2,300. Walmart will also pay $464,000 in fines. "Let this be a signal to other companies that when violations are found, the Labor Department will take appropriate action," Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said. The embarrassment comes as Walmart is dealing with an explosive bribery scandal that has prompted a criminal investigation.
