For the second time in less than a year, Wal-Mart is paying out a large sum for their failure to protect their employees' rights. In May, the retail giant settled a harassment lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission representing 10 workers at a Fresno Sam's Club. The employees, all either Mexican-immigrants or married to Mexican immigrants, were repeatedly attacked with insults and derogatory comments about their national origin.
The EEOC enforces federal laws protecting employees and applicants from discrimination. The federal agency got involved after workers' repeated complaints to supervisors fell on deaf ears. The harassment the employees endured and Wal-Mart management's failure to properly address it violated Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition to the $440,000 compensation agreed on in the settlement, Wal-Mart must ensure its Fresno and Bakersfield, Calif. Sam's Club locations take a number of steps so that employment discrimination of this kind does not continue. The company will have to track employee complaints and report both the incidents and their resolutions to the EEOC.
Labor and Civil Rights Violations Not New to Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart has an extensive history of these types of lawsuits. Just last year, Wal-Mart agreed to pay out $86 million in damages to former employees who were not paid all of the money that was owed to them when they left the company. The lawsuit stemmed in large part from failure to pay out vacation and other money owed to employees who had quit or were terminated. Wal-Mart blamed the problem on calculation errors by staff at individual stores. In an interview with lawyersandsettlements.com, attorney Louis Marlin, co-founder of the law firm Marlin & Saltzman, LLP, said his California firm uncovered e-mails that "clearly indicated that Wal-Mart knew about the problem."
Wal-Mart is also the subject of a broad-based gender discrimination suit known as Dukes v. Wal-Mart. The case concerns allegations that Wal-Mart discriminated against female employees by either not paying a wage equal to that of their male counterparts and/or failure to promote the female employees. Although the Supreme Court ruled in June that a class of up to 1.6 million women would not be allowed to pursue their claims collectively, the case is not over. Smaller groups of women are still pursuing their claims.
In 2008 Wal-Mart was forced to pay in excess of $352 million to resolve a total of 63 lawsuits across the country. The lawsuits alleged that Wal-Mart had forced its employees to work off of the clock. The settlement set a new record for wage violation cases.
Pursue Your Rights
It is not permissible under federal law for any employer to discriminate on the basis of your sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age or genetic information. Some states forbid additional individual characteristics for which employers may not discriminate, like sexual orientation or whether people receive public assistance. Every employee is entitled to a safe work environment, free of dangers and harassment. Workers are entitled to equal pay. A hostile workplace is stressful. It impacts not just the employee, but his or her friends and family members who are first-hand witnesses to the emotional, psychological and financial impact of that environment.
Although most employers have policies against discrimination and harassment, they don't always enforce them. Bad employers are like bullies. They will not stop unless somebody stops them.
If this is happening to you, it is likely that this has happened to or is happening to other people as well. If you are a worker who believes your rights have been violated, you should contact a local employment lawyer immediately. An experienced worker's rights attorney will be able to address your fears and evaluate your situation to determine if you have an actionable claim.
