In search of justice

DISCOVERY
ALUMNUS
TAKES ON
WALMART
AND WINS
“WAGE THEFT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED, AND CLASS ACTIONS ARE AN
optimal way for large numbers of workers to recover wages stolen by
their employers,” says attorney Michael D. Donovan JD’84. His remarks
follow an April 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision to reject Walmart’s
appeal of a $187.6 million verdict in Wal-mart Stores, Inc. v. Braun.
Michael, who represents 187,000 Walmart employees in the class
action case, was featured in the Fall 2015 “Unusual Suspects” issue
of Loquitur, in an article detailing the suit brought against Walmart by
hourly employees of Walmart and Sam’s Club for failing to compensate
employees who were forced to work through lunch breaks. Congratulations
to Michael—and the workers—on this victory.
CONNECT.VERMONTLAW.EDU/
LOQUITUR-MAGAZINE
ON WORKERS’
RIGHTS
IN SEPTEMBER THE INTERNATIONAL LAW SOCIETY AND THE
Center for Applied Human Rights hosted Janelle Diller of the International
Labour Organization (ILO) for a talk titled “Workers’ Rights and
Corporate Responsibilities Across Borders: Perspectives on Law and
Social Justice.” Diller, a senior legal adviser at the ILO, an agency
of the United Nations, led the ILO role in international negotiations
that resulted in a compensation arrangement for the victims of the
Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. The collapse, in 2013,
was the deadliest factory disaster in the history of the garment
industry. “Ms. Diller has been at the very center in negotiating with
businesses, workers’ groups and international organizations to address
the human rights impacts of globalization,” says Professor Stephanie Farrior,
director of the Center for Applied Human Rights. “We are privileged to have
such a leader speak at our school.”
vermontlaw.edu/academics/centers-and-programs/center-forapplied-human-rights
LOQUITUR 8