Wal-Mart ordered to pay $188 mln over reduced staff breaks

Dec 16 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had ordered it to pay about $188 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by employees who claimed their meal and rest breaks were regularly cut.

Wal-Mart said the ruling, which it may appeal, would reduce its fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations by about 6 cents per share. (http://1.usa.gov/1DGIdUL)

The suit, filed in March 2002, represented about 187,000 Wal-Mart employees who worked in Pennsylvania between 1998 and 2006. (http://reut.rs/1szXgLv) (Reporting by Shailaja Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)