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The Women vs. Wal-Mart

SS Member Image By drodriguez 04.28.10
The Women vs. Wal-Mart
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Good news has come through for thousands of women involved in a lawsuit against Wal-Mart, the largest retail chain in the world.  The Washington Post reports that a federal appeals court has ruled that all of the women involved can file as a class action against the giant retail chain.  This ruling comes after almost a decade of litigation against Wal-Mart claiming that their women employees were not paid equal to the men and were not given as many promotions.  The ruling does not mean Wal-Mart is being charged with wrong-doing, it just means the women involved can now proceed with their lawsuit as a group.

It is being estimated that there are currently about 500,000 women involved in the lawsuit against Wal-Mart. That number has gone down from the millions that were involved before the appeals court ruled the case could only involve women who left the company after 2001 when the suit was filed.  Betty Dukes was one of the six original plaintiffs leading the suit against Wal-Mart.  She complained that Wal-Mart often paid women less than men even in cases where they had higher performance ratings and more seniority. 

One of the attorneys, Ted Boutrous, representing Wal-Mart discusses how far-reaching this lawsuit can actually become.  Boutrous says, "We’ve always believed that this case presented issues that go far beyond the parties.  This formula is really a recipe for massive litigation against companies around the country."  Many would hope that a high profile lawsuit like this would encourage other companies to investigate whether they are offering equal benefits to female employees.

Representatives at Wal-Mart defend the retailer saying they have made a lot of progress to support women employees and cites a recent article from Pink magazine, aimed at women in business, that named the store as one of the 10 best companies to work for.   

What do you think of the current class action suit being formed against Wal-Mart for paying women less than men?

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  • Aspiringauthor09 By Aspiringauthor09
    07.15.10  

    I think that, if they have good evidence, then they should fight for their rights as much as possible! I don't like an big chains, because they aren't concernedabout their customers. They can't be! There are too many of them!!!!

  • dlcintl96 By dlcintl96
    05.26.10  

    I worked for Walmart for 7 months. They promise to work around your schedule if you have a 2nd job- good luck with that ! They give you crazy hours and hassle you if you try to go to church. My store manager told me that I had to make a choice. Church or my job ! After 7 months of trading around schedules with other employees to have 2 hours to go to church, I finally quit ! When I quit they acted shocked . I found out I could have taken them to court through the labor board but that would have taken months. It wasn't worth it. Beware of Walmart ! Our department was cheated out of breaks because we didn't have enough people to cover our department. I refuse to shop there because of so much unfair treatment not just to me but to so many others. I keep in contact with some of my old co-workers and things are getting worse . Many have tried to call corp. office but nothing is done .

  • joy9281 By joy9281
    05.23.10  

    I love shopping at walmart and I always get great deals there. I do not understand the lawsuit or if it is justified but I sure hope that it is not.

  • mommaduck By mommaduck
    05.22.10  

    I hope they win. Hopefully they have proof. Because i know your not supposed to talk about income. Maybe someone from their HR department brought it up. Best of luck and I hope you win

  • CAmom75 By CAmom75
    05.21.10  

    If these allegations are true, then Wal-Mart definately deserves to be sued. There is NO reason for men earning more, if woman are doing the exact same job. I did used to shop at Wal-Mart exclusively when my daughter was a baby, just because it was so gosh-darned convenient. We don't have a Target anywhere near us, and where else can you buy baby stuff, dog-food, grocery items, AND socks? Now I try to shop mostly at the drug stores because I feel like I get far better customer service.

  • staceyradcliff By staceyradcliff
    05.19.10  

    i have worked for wal mart for 15 years, i have been promoted in every position i have applied for. these women that are not being promoted probably are not the best candidate for the job. in my store there have been many people over the years that want to be promoted and simply could not have done the job! just because you want to be promoted does not mean that you automatically get to be, would you allow some one to be president of a company just because they wanted to be, would you allow someone to care for your children that was not qualified but beleived in their minds that they were, and then sued you for discrimination because you wouldn't llet them care for your children!! you must look at all sides of the story before blindly beleiveing everything someone says.

  • supermommy828 By supermommy828
    05.19.10  

    i really do love shopping at walmart for their low prices, but after reading these comments and the article i am unsure if i want to continue supporting this chain of retailers.

  • Stephanie1016 By Stephanie1016
    05.10.10  

    I have no doubt the allegations are true. I worked at Wal Mart when I was 18 and there was a policy that if an item was marked wrong, the item was $3 off and if the item was less than $3 it was free. My manager flat out told me not to do it and said to never tell a customer of the policy. I've heard countless stories from a family member about the awful things they've done. My family member, who's worked there for 17 years and hardly makes enough to get by, slipped and fell and was hurt due to a detergent spill by another employee. My family member was written up for it. Sadly they've become almost too big to hurt and have people by the purse strings. But we can try! Someone needs to shed some light and show their practices for what they are!!

  • eldapc11 By eldapc11
    05.08.10  

    I hate Wal-Mart. I don't shop there for many reasons. I think everyone should watch the documentary ?Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price?. After I watched it I stopped going there. I would not be surprised if this story about gender discrimination is true.

  • honeydrop1964 By honeydrop1964
    05.04.10  

    I cant remember the name of the show..but I heard a lawyer or someone of that nature say Walmart was denying its employees health insurance. Furthermore, when they found out an employee was seriously ill, they took how life insurance policies with Walmart as the beneficiary. To me, thats as low as you can go. I would believe most anything I heard about them. Just talk to their employees.

  • honesty20002 By honesty20002
    05.03.10  

    WALMART HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS IN THE PAST. FROM FALSE ADVERTISEMENT, AND FALSE PRICES (CHECK YOUR RECEIPT BEFORE LEAVING THE STORE) TO BELOW STANDARD SECURITY. NOW THIS. IF THIS IS TRUE WALMART HAS LOSS ME AS A CUSTOMER. I AM A WOMAN WHO HAS STORMED DOWN MANY OBTACLES TO REACH WHERE I AM TODAY. AND I AM SURE THERE ARE 100'S OF OTHERS. WOMEN HAVE THE POWER. GUESS I'LL DO MORE SHOPPING AT TARGET.

  • rikkiroo By rikkiroo
    05.02.10  

    I wish them luck.

  • sammyrox By sammyrox
    04.30.10  

    Wal-mart has taken advantage of it's employees, suppliers, and customers for many years. It's good to see the people who are involved fighting back to the extent of the law.

  • MyEmptyCanvas By MyEmptyCanvas
    04.30.10  

    If this is true, then those women need to go for it and go hard ! Wal-Mart is a piece of work and I rarely shop there now because I'd rather not have a headache when I come out of there. They act like using coupons is against the law or something and scrutinize every little thing... I just can't waste 40 minutes in there each time when I go in for 1 or 2 items.

  • ponderingprincess By ponderingprincess
    04.29.10  

    I know people who work there and I know this happens, I hope they win...women should be heard and promoted for there hard work

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