Wal-Mart to pay $86M to settle lawsuit over wages

New York City Wal-Mart Stores has agreed to pay up to $86 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it owes workers in California vacation pay and other unpaid wages.

The company agreed to pay the settlement, which the plaintiffs said includes $12 million in vacation pay and $74 million in unpaid wages to terminated workers.

Wal-Mart will pay a minimum of $43 million and up to $86 million, plus the cost associated with a third party to calculate wages due to the workers.

About 232,000 former workers will share the settlement. Wal-Mart declined to comment.

In a statement on its site, the company said the settlement will not affect its results in the first and second quarters of fiscal 2011.

According to court documents, Wal-Mart does not concede that any wages remain unpaid.

The case was filed in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, consolidated from two cases filed in 2006.