WALTERBORO, S.C. - Wal-Mart must face a class-action by South Carolina employees claiming the company forced them to work through breaks and off the clock, a judge ruled.

Current and former hourly workers from July 31, 1999, forward can sue in a single case, Judge Perry M. Buckner III in Walterboro, said. The group of about 100,000 workers is large enough and their claims similar enough to allow a class-action lawsuit, Buckner said.

"Plaintiffs' claims are typical, irrespective of varying fact patterns underlying individual claims, because they allege that they were not paid for work performed off-the-clock and were denied rest and meal breaks," Buckner wrote.

Wal-Mart faces at least 70 U.S. wage-and-hour suits by employees claiming it failed to pay for all hours worked. The South Carolina decision is the fourth since May 1 allowing similar group lawsuits. The company won a ruling in New York in June denying the status to a suit there.

"Even more courts around the country have found that cases like this are not properly suited for class treatment," said Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley. Wal-Mart doesn't have a scorecard on which cases have been denied class status because the suits are in different stages of litigation, he said.

Wal-Mart may appeal the South Carolina ruling, he said. "We are disappointed with the court's decision and are reviewing our options," Simley said.

The class-action status allows all the workers' claims to be decided in one case, increasing pressure on the company to settle, and lets workers who couldn't afford to sue on their own share in any payment for damages.

"There isn't enough money per person to make it worth the cost" of pursuing a suit individually, workers' attorney Rodney Bridgers said. "Now they're going to be able to prosecute their case for lost wages."

The workers will ask Buckner for a trial in 2008, he said.

The South Carolina workers, who filed the suit in 2001, claim "Wal-Mart, through understaffing, does not allow employees to have meal or rest breaks that they've earned," Bridgers said.

Wal-Mart also forces its employees to work without pay before and after shifts, Bridgers said. "According to Wal-Mart's own records, they're operating cash registers and other electronic devices while they're off the clock."

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