If you were a Walmart employee who took Short-Term Military Leave (30 days or less) between October 10, 2004 and December 31, 2020, You May Be Entitled to Money from the Walmart Short Term Military Leave Class Action Settlement.
Walmart, Inc. (“Walmart”) has reportedly agreed to a class action settlement of a military leave lawsuit filed against it in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, styled Nickolas Tsui v. Walmart Inc., Class Action Case No. 20 Civ. 12309, alleging, among other things, that Walmart violated the Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) by failing to provide its employees fully paid leave when they took short-term military leave since October 2004. Walmart has reportedly denied the claims made in the lawsuit and denied that it did anything wrong.
According to the Walmart class action lawsuit, the USERRA law provides servicemembers and veterans with a range of rights and benefits, including protections for reservists who take military leave from civilian employers. For instance, USERRA, 38 U.S.C. § 4316(b)(1), provides that “a person who is absent from a position of employment by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be (A) deemed to be on furlough or leave of absence while performing such service; and (B) entitled to such other rights and benefits not determined by seniority as are generally provided by the employer of the person to employees having similar seniority, status, and pay who are on furlough or leave of absence under a contract, agreement, policy, practice, or plan in effect at the commencement of such service or established while such person performs such service.”
According to the Walmart lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Labor’s regulations (20 C.F.R. § 1002.150(b)) that implement and interpret USERRA § 4316(b)(1) provide that “[i]f the non-seniority benefits to which employees on furlough or leave of absence are entitled vary according to the type of leave, the employee must be given the most favorable treatment accorded to any comparable form of leave when he or she performs service in the uniformed services.”
Who Is Included In The Walmart Short Term Military Leave Class Action Settlement?
The Walmart Short Term Military Leave class action settlement reportedly includes, unless otherwise excluded, the following settlement class:
(A) all current and former employees who work or worked for Walmart at a location in a jurisdiction covered by USERRA (i.e., the United States and its territories) during the Settlement Class Period; (B) who took Short-Term Military Leave (i.e., 30 days or less) in one or more years during their employment with Walmart during the Settlement Class Period, (C) and during such period of Short-Term Military Leave did not receive the regular wages or salary that they would have earned had they continued to work their ordinary work schedules.
The Walmart settlement class period includes the period of time from October 10, 2004 through December 31, 2020.
What Settlement Benefits Does The Walmart Short Term Military Leave Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Provide?
Under the Walmart Short Term Military Leave class action lawsuit settlement, Walmart will reportedly pay between $10 million and $14 million in cash (depending on the number of approved claims submitted), and make changes to Walmart’s military leave policies so that eligible employees can receive 30 days of fully paid military leave each year plus differential pay (meaning the difference between the associate’s Walmart pay and the pay provided by the military if the Walmart pay is higher) for military assignments longer than 30 days in a calendar year, not to exceed 12 months in a single continuous assignment assuming that all other conditional and requirements for differential pay are met.
Each Walmart Settlement Class Member who files a timely claim form will reportedly receive an equal share of the Settlement payments that are distributed to the Settlement Class Members for each Year of Military Leave that the Settlement Class Member identifies on their Claim Form and is approved by the Claims Administrator.
Walmart settlement class members reportedly must submit a claim form by September 16, 2021 to be eligible to receive a payment under the Settlement, which claim form can be submitted online or via regular mail.
Where Can You Obtain More Information About The Walmart Short Term Military Leave Class Action Settlement?
For more information about the Walmart Short Term Military Leave class action settlement, write to Walmart USERRA Settlement RG/2 Claims Administration LLC P.O. Box 59479, Philadelphia, PA 19102-947, call (866) 742-4955, email info@rg2claims.com or visit the Walmart class action settlement website at https://www.walmartuserrasettlement.com/