Walmart sanctioned for unpaid overtime

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WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- Walmart shorted 4,500 employees on overtime pay by wrongly classifying them as exempt from wage and hour laws, the U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday.

The government ordered the company to pay $4.8 million in back pay and damages and a $464,000 fine, The Washington Post reported. The ruling affects vision center managers, who are owed an average of $2,300 each, and asset-protection coordinators -- or security supervisors -- who are owed an average of $290.

The violations occurred between 2004 and 2007, the Labor Department said. The employees were reclassified in 2007 and Walmart is negotiating for the period after that, the Post said.

"When the issues resolved today were initially raised, we took them seriously and fully cooperated with the Department of Labor to make sure they were corrected," Greg Rossiter, a company spokesman, said.

Walmart is under fire for possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by paying bribes in Mexico.