Court approves $85 million settlement in Wal-Mart wage disputes

New York City Wal-Mart Stores has won preliminary court approval to pay as much as $85 million to settle 30 lawsuits involving claims the company didn't pay employees for all hours worked, according to Bloomberg News.

The settlement reportedly covers cases filed in federal courts in 29 states and Puerto Rico, the report said. The tentative agreement is part of a global $640 million resolution of wage-and-hour claims reached in December 2008 between Wal-Mart and its employees.

The suits claimed Wal-Mart violated wage-and-hours laws by denying workers rest breaks and by manipulating time cards to “shave” their pay. The suits were filed as class actions on behalf of all hourly workers in the individual states and subsequently combined in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.