About 1,082 hourly workers at the Walmart store in El Centro, California, who worked on days of 80 degrees or hotter between June 2018 and April 2026 are covered by a $400,000 settlement that a federal judge preliminarily approved on October 13, 2026. Payments are automatic, with no claim form, but will not go out until after a final approval hearing on April 15, 2027.
What Happened
U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia of the Southern District of California granted preliminary approval on October 13, 2026, to a $400,000 settlement in Hendrickson v. Wal-Mart Associates, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-00110. The case challenged working conditions at Walmart’s store in El Centro, a desert city in Imperial County where, according to the court’s order, temperatures regularly top 80 degrees from March through October and average highs exceed 100 degrees from June through September.The lawsuit alleged that the El Centro store did not give hourly workers the cool-down recovery periods California requires to prevent heat illness, did not pay the extra hour of wages owed when those periods were missed, and issued wage statements that did not reflect those premiums. It also brought a representative claim under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Walmart denies the allegations, and the court has not decided whether they are true.
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Who Is Covered
The settlement class includes everyone classified as an hourly non-exempt employee at the El Centro Walmart store from June 19, 2018 to April 24, 2026, who worked at least one shift on a day when the outdoor temperature reached or exceeded 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The parties estimate the class at 1,082 people. A smaller, overlapping group of about 787 “PAGA Employees,” made up of non-exempt workers at the store at any time from August 19, 2021 to April 24, 2026, also shares in a separate PAGA payment.How the Money Is Divided
Out of the $400,000, the agreement allows class counsel to ask for up to $133,333.33 in fees and up to $40,000 in costs, sets aside up to $12,500 for the settlement administrator, Apex Class Action LLC, and pays $30,000 to resolve the PAGA claim, of which $22,500 goes to California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency and $7,500 is divided among the PAGA Employees. The named plaintiff may ask for a service award of up to $10,000. Any amount the court declines to award goes back into the fund for workers.That leaves at least $174,166.67 for the class, divided by qualifying workweeks: weeks in which a worker had at least one shift on a day of 80 degrees or hotter, measured against Walmart’s employment records and National Weather Service data. Spread evenly across 1,082 people, the net fund would be about $161 each, but a worker with more hot-weather weeks would receive more and one with fewer would receive less. The court estimated the PAGA share at about $9.53 per PAGA Employee if divided evenly.
How Workers Get Paid
No claim form is required. Walmart will give the administrator a class list within 14 days of the October 13 order, and the administrator will mail notice within 14 days after that, so notices should arrive by mail around early-to-mid November 2026. Each notice states the worker’s estimated payment and the number of qualifying workweeks behind it.Class members will have 45 days from the notice to opt out, object, or challenge the administrator’s count of their workweeks. PAGA Employees receive their share of the PAGA payment even if they opt out of the class settlement. After final approval and the settlement’s effective date, Walmart has 30 days to fund the settlement and the administrator has 14 days after that to mail checks. A check that is never cashed is sent to the California State Controller’s Unclaimed Property Fund in the worker’s name rather than returned to Walmart.
What the Judge Flagged
Judge Battaglia approved the deal for notice but raised concerns he expects the parties to address before final approval. He questioned whether the proposed $10,000 service award is excessive compared with awards of $2,000 to $7,500 in other cases in the district, and whether the requested fees and costs are proportionate. He ordered the motions for final approval and for fees, due by January 21, 2027, to explain the average payment to class members, the hours the named plaintiff spent on the case, and the records behind the fee and cost requests. Class counsel’s own estimate put the maximum potential damages and penalties for the labor claims at $1,423,697.27.How the Case Got Here
The case was filed on December 14, 2022, in San Diego County Superior Court and removed to federal court. After an early neutral evaluation, discovery and a full-day mediation on February 12, 2026, the parties reached an agreement. A separate claim under California’s Unfair Competition Law, which the federal court had sent back to state court, is resolved by the same settlement. The final approval hearing is set for April 15, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 4A of the Edward J. Schwartz U.S. Courthouse in San Diego.Questions
Who is covered by the Walmart El Centro heat settlement?
The settlement class covers people classified as hourly non-exempt employees at the Walmart store in El Centro, California, from June 19, 2018 to April 24, 2026, who worked at least one shift on a day when the outdoor temperature reached or exceeded 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The parties estimate the class at 1,082 people.
Do El Centro Walmart workers need to file a claim?
No. Class members are included automatically unless they opt out. The settlement administrator, Apex Class Action LLC, will mail each class member a notice with an estimated payment, and checks are mailed after final approval.
How much will each worker get from the Walmart El Centro settlement?
At least $174,166.67 will be divided among the class based on qualifying workweeks, meaning weeks with at least one shift on a day of 80 degrees or hotter. Spread evenly across 1,082 people, that would be about $161 each, but actual shares depend on each person's weeks. Workers in the PAGA group also share $7,500, which the court estimated at about $9.53 each.
When is the final approval hearing for the Walmart El Centro settlement?
Judge Anthony J. Battaglia set the final approval hearing for April 15, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego. Payments go out only after final approval and the settlement's effective date.
What happens to uncashed Walmart El Centro settlement checks?
Under the settlement, an uncashed check is sent to the California State Controller's Unclaimed Property Fund in the worker's name, where it can later be claimed through the state's unclaimed property program.
What was the Walmart El Centro lawsuit about?
The lawsuit alleged that Walmart's El Centro store failed to provide the cool-down recovery periods California requires to prevent heat illness, failed to pay the premium wages owed when those periods were missed, and issued inaccurate wage statements. Walmart denies the allegations, and the court has not decided whether they are true.
Sources
- Docket, Hendrickson v. Wal-Mart Associates, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-00110-AJB-BJW (S.D. Cal.)
- Order Granting Joint Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class and PAGA Action and Settlement (ECF 102, October 13, 2026): class definition, settlement amounts, notice and opt-out procedure, distribution and final approval hearing.
