Attorney General Griffin Announces $847,000 Settlement with Walmart

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement announcing a settlement with Walmart following a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 11 other states for deceptive trade practices:

“The FTC and 11 other states sued Walmart for unfair and deceptive trade practices related to Walmart’s Spark Driver program. The FTC action was resolved via consent judgment earlier this year. Arkansas was not part of the original lawsuit, but we have reached a subsequent settlement with identical terms to the FTC action. Walmart will pay Arkansas $847,847.30 in civil penalties.

“This is a victory for consumers and working Arkansans, and I am pleased to see this issue resolved.”

Background

The FTC’s claims of unfair practices in Walmart’s Spark Driver program included misrepresentation of compensation and tip amounts to drivers before they accepted a job; reducing pay after delivery; misrepresenting batching orders or splitting tips; telling consumers that 100% of tips went to drivers; and failing to pay driver-incentive bonuses.
Monetary relief for affected drivers in Arkansas was provided as part of the consent judgment in the FTC lawsuit. Arkansas’s settlement ensures additional accountability and civil penalties for conduct affecting drivers in this state.

To download a PDF version of this release, click here.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

###