Wal-Mart guilty of 2 million labor law violations, judge says

How many times did Wal-Mart violate Minnesota state labor laws? Jesse Russell has the number.

Two million times. That is how many times Dakota County Judge Robert King, Jr. says Wal-Mart violated labor laws by cutting worker break time.

The violations were willful, said District Judge Robert King in a ruling Monday in Hastings. They could bring a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, which could mean a $2 billion fine for the world's largest retailer. A jury will decide the size of the penalty during the second phase of the trial, expected to begin Oct. 20.

Nancy Braun, one of four named plaintiffs on the suit, said Tuesday that she was "ecstatic" about the judge's decision. Braun, who worked in an Apple Valley store for about 14 months beginning in March 1998, said the store repeatedly didn't find people to give her breaks when she was the sole cook and waitress at the store's grill.

In several instances no one came in time for her to go to the bathroom. "I would end up soiling myself," said Braun, now 53 and living in Rochester. "Sometimes I'd have other clothes with me in my locker, or they would say to me, 'We have clothes in the store you can buy.'"

Braun said she kept complaining, "and they kept promising to get me help, but they never did it."