Greg Rossiter

Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $4.8 million in back wages and damages to thousands of employees for unpaid overtime after a probe by the U.S. Department of Labor found that the retailer had violated a federal law governing overtime pay. Wal-Mart will also pay $463,815 in civil fines. According to the Labor Department, Wal-Mart failed to pay overtime to certain employees, considering them to be exempt from overtime requirements when they were, in fact, not exempt. Wal-Mart said it has already adjusted its pay practices, determining that back wages should be paid for 3,700 employees in two roles.

Wal-Mart plans to stop paying associates an extra $1 an hour for working on Sundays starting next year. The move will only affect those hired after Jan. 1, not its current 1.4 million U.S. employees.