Walmart Lawsuit Information

Walmart Overview

One of the largest class action lawsuits to ever hit America is in the preparation stages - the sexual discrimination Walmart lawsuit. This suit was first launched in 2001 by six women and it's taken this long to get to the stage it's at now.

With the courts decision to allow a class action lawsuit, it will mean more than one million past and present female Walmart employees may seek compensation. This suit may ultimately cost Walmart billions of dollars. There is speculation Walmart will appeal this decision.

The allegations are that Walmart actively discriminated against its female employees by advancing men more quickly than women, and by denying women equal job assignments, compensation, training and promotions. Further allegations are that the company retaliates against anyone opposing their tactics. These causes of action are the foundation of the Walmart lawsuit.

Some of the reported facts include information that Walmart only has roughly 37.6% of women in assistant manager positions, 21.9% as co-managers and only 15.5% as store managers. There are reportedly also statistics that show roughly 65% of hourly employees are female, compared to about 33% of management.

It allegedly takes (from date of being hired) an average of 2.86 years for men to get a promotion to assistant manager and 4.38 years for women to get the same. To be elevated to store manager it allegedly takes males about 8.84 years and females 10-12 years.

Walmart Problems & Legal Issues

Mixed in the class action Walmart lawsuit are other sub-classes. One of them represents hourly wageworkers forced to work without pay (known as off-the-clock) through their meal and rest breaks. Allegations state that Walmart violated state wage and hour laws. These assertions will be dealt with during the Walmart lawsuit.

A further allegation is that Walmart under-staffs its stores, pressuring employees to finish assignments but refuses to allow them to stay on-the-clock to finish. Also that the company locks employees in after closing and requires they stay put after clocking-out until store managers visit every department.

Letters were sent to 75,000 current or former Wal-Mart workers advising them that they are plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against Walmart. This suit is set for trial in the spring of 2009, and is billed as "the largest wage-and-hour class action ever certified in Washington State."

Any employee of Walmart or Sam's Club from September 10, 1997 until now is automatically included in the class, and would share in any benefits from a verdict or settlement in the Walmart lawsuit.

Similar class action cases have been filed in more than 35 states. Four have been tried and resolved in favor of the plaintiffs. In California, plaintiffs won a judgment of roughly $167 million, and in Pennsylvania there was a verdict of $151 million.

Walmart Lawsuits

In 2008 a US District Court judge rejected Walmart's claims that a satirical website and products speaking out against Walmart violated the company's trademark.

WalMart will pay former executive Tom Coughlin $6.75 million in settlement voiding his retirement package worth millions more. The former executive is alleged to have defrauded the company over his years as a top executive.

In another class action lawsuit, employees are claiming the company ought to have disclosed to participants how it selected the funds in the 401(k) plan. Workers are further claiming Walmart should have offered details on revenue-sharing arrangement plans, in which fees charged to workers are used to pay 401(k) providers for other services.

A Minnesota judge ruled that Walmart cut short employees' rest and meal breaks and forced them to work off-the-clock, violating the state's labor laws 2 million times. The award was $6.5 million in compensatory damages.

Similar lawsuits launched by employees about employment record doctoring, forced off-the-clock hours and discrimination in the workplace have dogged Walmart for years. This latest action will be the biggest yet.

Have you been denied career opportunities in management, equal pay for equal work, gotten the run-around about promotions or raises while working at Walmart? Consider speaking to a lawyer about the possibility of joining in the class action Walmart lawsuit.




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