BENTONVILLE, AR— A California judge has approved class action status for a lawsuit against Walmart Transportation, launched by a group of drivers who claim the company is failing to pay the federally-mandated minimum wage.

And whichever way the lawsuit ends, it will set a legal precedent for how other lawsuits and wage disputes are handled in the future.

The drivers have been trying to sue the retail chain since 2008 over failure to pay minimum wages, but have only just received class action status, allowing the drivers to sue as a group rather than as individually, this month.

But Walmart disagres with the judge’s ruling based on some of the drivers’ claims and plans to challenge the claims that its drivers have not been paid at least a minimum wage. 

“Walmart is a great place to work as demonstrated by the fact that our drivers average time with the company exceeds 12 years,” the company wrote to todaystrucking.com. “We are proud that our drivers’ are among the highest paid in the industry, earning, on average, between $80,000 to over $100,000 per year.”

Walmart drivers are paid by the mile like most of truck drivers, and also receive pay for any activity that Walmart deems compensable. Some non-compensable duties drivers must perform are pre and post-trip inspections, completing paperwork, rest breaks, fueling, and maintaining and washing their rigs.

The drivers argue that minimum wage requirements are met only if driving time is taken into account exclusively and that Walmart’s pay fall short when you consider the drivers’ non-compensable duties.

The drivers also take issue with unpaid meal brakes and failing to provide accurate wage statements.