A fourth lawsuit alleging wage theft at a Wal-Mart warehouse in Will County was filed in federal court November 18.

Workers hired by Eclipse Advantage to staff Wal-Mart’s warehouse in Ellwood, Illinois, charge they were paid less than minimum wage or shorted on their hours – and in some cases both.

“I worked 21 hours for Eclipse my first week and was paid $57 for it,” said Roberto Gutierrez.  “The company says I only worked 12 hours, by even by their logic I was still paid less than minimum wage.

Warehouse Workers for Justice led dozens of warehouse workers who demonstrated at the Wal-Mart warehouse Monday, demanding that payment records be released.

The suit is the fourth filed by WWJ on behalf of Wal-mart warehouse workers since 2009.  The other suits are pending.

“We’ve seen a spike” of wage theft complaints during the pre-holiday season peak this year, said Mark Meinster of WWJ.

In recent months, California state labor investigators have fined two Wal-Mart contractors over $1 million for violations there, he said.