The proposed settlement of a lawsuit filed on behalf of about 1,800 workers at a Wal-Mart warehouse and distribution center will cost Schneider Logistics Inc. $21 million in unpaid wages, interest and penalties.

The violations occurred from 2001 to 2013 in Southern California, where Schneider contracted with the giant retailer. It alone, not Wal-Mart, is the financially responsible party.

The workers, with assistance from  the Warehouse Worker Resource Center in finding legal representation, sued Schneider in October 2011 for major wage theft against “lumpers” — workers, mostly Latino immigrants, who load and unload boxes by hand from shipping containers. They often worked double shifts of 16 hours a day, seven days a week, but did not get required breaks or overtime. They often worked for less than minimum wage, according to the suit.

They were paid on a piece-rate, not hourly, basis that was found to be illegal and since has been revised. The settlement is expected to be final later this year.

“Thank God we’re now going to receive compensation for the years before when they didn’t pay us well,” said one of the workers involved. “I see those years as abusive … when we’d only earn $100 to $150 a week.”

Read the whole story on Latimes.com.