Wal-Mart hit with $172.3m lunch bill

A jury in Oakland, California on Thursday ordered Wal-Mart, the largest US retailer, to pay $172.3m to current and former employees, after finding that the company had failed to respect their right to a 30-minute unpaid lunch break.

The verdict is the largest penalty of its kind imposed by a court on the retailer in a range of lawsuits that have accused it of deliberately allowing its employees to work unpaid overtime, or to work during legally required breaks.