Walmart Cashier Lawsuit Says Company Ignores Settlement Terms

A Walmart cashier lawsuit claims that Walmart fails to provide seating to their cashiers despite a 2018 settlement agreement.

Walmart resolved similar claims against them in 2018 and agreed to provide cashiers with stools to sit on during their work. However, plaintiffs in the recent class action lawsuit claim that Walmart has failed to follow these settlement terms and violates California labor laws by denying cashiers seating.

In 2016, the California Supreme Court issued a groundbreaking ruling in a case against CVS when the high court ruled unanimously that there is “no principled reason” to deny a worker a seat when they spend a “substantial” part of their workday in one location, such as a cashier who stays in their lane for most of their shift.

This ruling sparked several lawsuits under the state’s Private Attorney Generals Act – a law which allows plaintiffs to seek penalties for labor law violations on behalf of the California Labor and Workforce Development agency.

The recent class action lawsuit from plaintiff Mark C. also falls under PAGA and challenges Walmart’s lack of cashier seating. Mark reportedly works as a money center cashier at a Walmart location in California, where he spends most of his time in one spot waiting for customers to approach.

The PAGA class action lawsuit argues that seating would not interfere with Mark’s ability to do his job since so much of his day is spent in the same location. Despite this, Mark and other similarly situated workers have allegedly been denied seating.

Mark notes that other cashier employees including front end cashiers are provided with seats or stools while processing customer transactions. However, despite performing similar duties, money center cashiers and other positions are allegedly denied seating accommodations.

“During the performance of this work, plaintiff and all other non-exempt aggrieved employees were not provided with a suitable seat despite the fact that the nature of their work reasonably permitted the use of a seat,” the Walmart cashier class action lawsuit contends.

Mark seeks to represent a Class of California Walmart employees who worked for the company since Aug. 26, 2019 in a position which involves using a point of sale machine or cash register away from the front end. This includes Money Center Cashiers, Electronics Cashiers, Smoke Shop Cashiers, and more.
In addition to bringing claims under PAGA, Mark notes that these actions fly in the face of a previous settlement from Walmart.

Walmart Cashier Lawsuit Settlement

In October 2018, Walmart agreed to resolve nine years of seating claims against them with a $65 million settlement.

In addition to providing cash payments to affected Class Members and paying PAGA penalties, the settlement included non-monetary relief. Under the terms of the settlement deal, Walmart agreed to provide seats to cashiers in California.

The Walmart cashier lawsuit settlement terms included guarantees that Walmart could remove the chairs, but only if the seating lead to “increased injuries or accidents” or decreased “the quality and effectiveness of the cashier’s overall job performance.”

Unfortunately, according to the recent class action lawsuit against the retail giant, Walmart has ignored these terms by failing to provide cashier seating.

The recent class action lawsuit is not the first time Walmart has been accused of violating the 2018 settlement agreement. In August, workers filed a motion in federal court alleging that Walmart offers “virtually no seats” to their California cashiers.

“Visits a month ago by private investigators to 45 randomly selected Walmart stores show that there are virtually no seats and virtually no seated cashiers,” the cashiers wrote in their motion.

“The evidence compiled to date also indicates that Walmart has continued to require a doctor’s note in order to obtain a seat, even from pregnant cashiers.”

The Walmart Cashier Class Action Lawsuit is Case No. unknown in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The Walmart Seating Class Action Lawsuit Settlement is Case No. 5:09-cv-03339-EJD in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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