BOSTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Retail giant Wall-Mart Stores Inc. settled a class-action lawsuit in Massachusetts by agreeing to pay $40 million to 87,500 employees for wages owed.

The suit, filed in 2001, accused the world's largest retailer of manipulating time cards, refusing to allow workers to go on breaks and failing to pay overtime, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.


In the settlement, both sides agreed not to comment on the case. However, attorney Philip Gordon, who represented the employees, said in a filed affidavit the settlement "finally pays them their earned wages and it puts in place systems and processes to ensure that abuses like those alleged never happen again."

The settlement includes payment to employees who worked between August 1995 and the settlement date. Payments ranged from $400 to $2,500, the newspaper said.