The retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to pay up to $35 Million to settle a class action lawsuit over its’ employees lunch and rest breaks.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of 88,000 workers in Washington state stores who were forced to skip lunch and rest breaks and forced to work off the clock.

“The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer and lawyers for the workers jointly announced Wednesday that a King County Superior Court judge has given final approval to the deal.”

“This lawsuit was filed years ago and the allegations are not representative of the company we are today,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore said in a news release. “Our policy is to pay associates for every hour worked and to make rest and meal breaks available.”

In December, Wal-Mart announced that it would pay up to $640 million to settle 63 lawsuits across the country over violating employees’ wage and hour violation. Only 2 of the lawsuits went to trial, and those ones are currently

“In Washington, the plaintiffs’ lawyers will receive $10.5 million to cover eight years of legal fees. Three workers who brought the lawsuit will receive $10,000 each, and other workers will get between $50 and $950, depending on how long they worked for Wal-Mart and how much detail they can provide about the violations they suffered.”

Check out the original article: Wal-Mart to Pay up to $35 Million Over Work Breaks

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As the global economy struggles to stabilize and corporations scramble for every cent of profit a few companies have decided for and against exclusive supply agreements. There are arguments on both sides for the benefits and detriments of an exclusive supply agreement. As an advantage, an exclusive supply agreement can be an effective business tool as it locks down a unique source of supply, either for the whole market or just for the geography or sector that is the target market. A disadvantage of an exclusive supply agreement is that the manufacturer and/or the distributor can miss out on better deals and pricing.

Wal-Mart terminated their exclusive supply agreement with Cott Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of own-brand soft drinks in February 2009. The loss of the exclusive supply agreement with Cott Corporation’s largest client responsible for 30% of the company’s business, made a noticeable negative impact on Cott Corporation.

Singapore based company, Energenics, produces alternative energy solutions and technologies, has a functioning and mutually beneficial exclusive supply agreement with Cerion Energy for the supply of cerium oxide particles used in increasing fuel efficiency while reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and health-threatening chemicals.

Whether drafting, amending or terminating an exclusive supply agreement, online legal document resources like RealDealDocs.com offer the execution copies of actual legal documents for use as templates or simple general knowledge.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com.
SmartRules provides step by step guides to local rules and civil procedure for state courts & federal courts throughout the country.

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Blatant acts of consumer desperation in our bleak economy were evident this past Friday on the retail holiday known as “Black Friday”, when shoppers scramble for bargains in the kick off of the holiday shopping season turned deadly.

The first deadly event happened on Long Island, N.Y. where a 6′5″ tall Wal-Mart worker who weighed in at over 270 lbs was trampled by customers who broke through the front door. At least four other people, including a mother who was eight months pregnant at the time, were taken to hospitals.

“Witnesses and the police said the doors shattered, and the shrieking mob surged through in a rush for holiday bargains. One worker, Jdimytai Damour, 34, of Queens, was thrown back onto the black linoleum tiles and trampled in the stampede that streamed over and around him.”

The second deadly event happened at about 11:30 a.m. at a Toys “R” Us in Palm Desert, CA. Two women got into an altercation and the men that they were with, Alejandro Moreno, 39, and Juan Meza, 28, began to shoot at each other.

“After the women began arguing, witnesses said, Meza pulled out a gun. Moreno also pulled out a gun and started chasing and shooting at Meza, witnesses said. Frantic shoppers either dropped to the floor or stormed out of the store.”

Both men shot each other dead.

Check out the original articles here and here.

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Wal-Mart’s Executive Compensation Plan Agreement Released

The Executive Compensation Plan Agreement for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was made available today by online legal document provider RealDealDocs.com.

The Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executive compensation plan was drafted in 2004 in order to advance the interests of the shareholders of the company by providing performance-based incentives to eligible management associates. In 2007, Imitation Corporation drew an executive compensation plan agreement to attract and retain their well-qualified employees as directors of the company.

An executive compensation plan agreement is a legal document between an employer and an employee at the executive level at the commencement of the period of employment and stating the exact nature of their business relationship, specifically what compensation the employee will receive in exchange for specific work performed.

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The contracts, agreements and clauses available at RealDealDocs.com are the actual legal documents used by both the smallest of small capital companies as well as Fortune 500 companies alike. The legal documents at RealDealDocs.com have been drafted by the nation’s top law firms for some of the top companies in America.

RealDealDocs.com helps to cut drafting time in half and provides unprecedented insight into the deal structures of the world’s largest companies. The legal documents may be searched for by category, law firm, parties involved or by the state of the governing law. Visitors can search the extensive RealDealDocs.com database absolutely free and members of the site may also download, copy, edit and print unlimited legal documents for their own personal or business use. Visit RealDealDocs.com for more information, membership options, and free legal document searches.

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And just when you thought you’ve heard it all, bam, a new lawsuit emerges! In Springfield, Missouri, Debby Rose has filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart, local health officials and Cox Health Systems, alleging discrimination against her and Richard, the woman’s pet monkey.

Accusing the organizations of being monkey-haters, Rose also claims that her 10-year-old bonnet macaque “helps her curb a social anxiety disorder that can cause her to have panic attacks in public,” according to Kansascity.com.

For those of you who don’t know what a bonnet macaque is, here’s some added trivia to this trivial suit. Bonnet macaque is 35-60 cm long plus a tail of 35-68 cm. Their weight ranges from 3.5 to 9 kg, boys are always larger, thus, Richard is a big boy, at least bigger than the gals. With a life expectancy of up to 30 years, Richard will also be around for quite some time. He eats fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers, invertebrates and cereals. Needless to say, almost everything he needs can be found at Wal-Mart and therefore, I’m beginning to understand why monkeys should be allowed to shop there, too.

However, Rose’s suit gets deeper than that, contending that the Springfield-Greene County Health Department lacked the authority to decide that Richard is not a service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Allegedly, in 2006, Health officials also sent letters to restaurants and grocery stores, stating that Rose and her monkey were not allowed in together. However, Rose and Richard are retaliating. After all, monkeys should have rights, too.

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