By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – A judge in Kansas City has granted class action status to a lawsuit against Wal-Mart.
The group includes up to 200,000 people who worked at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in Missouri from 1996 to 2003.
Plaintiffs' lawyers say the retail giant forced hourly employees to work off the clock, failed to pay overtime and prevented them from taking breaks.
Attorney Larry Ward said plaintiffs are using Wal-Mart's own time clock data to make their case.
"We were able to offer significant evidence from computer information that Wal-Mart had available and interpret it through experts," Ward said.
In a statement, Wal-Mart denied the allegations. The company also said corporate policy is to pay associates for every minute they work.
Attorneys first filed the suit in 2001.