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Wal-Mart’s Discrimination Against Women Lawsuit
I. A.
filed against
Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart. The following is going to describe the details of the lawsuit, give information on how this could have been avoided, and the remedies Wal-Mart should enact to reestablish their reputation and business practices.
In 2001, Betty Dukes along with six female co-workers filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart and its subsidiary Sam’s Club claiming gender-based discrimination in pay and promotions for hourly associates and salaried employees in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This act banned major types of discrimination against women and it ended unequal application of voter registration requirements in the workplace. Two years later, the plaintiffs moved to certify this as a class-action lawsuit to include women reporting similar experiences. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved this in 2004 and now the lawsuit involves over 1.6 million women working in 184 stores spanning over 30 states.
Wal-MartThe Wal-Mart case projects an insight of two obstacles women still face in the workforce today: the wage gap and the glass ceiling. According to Robert Krietiner and Angelo Kinicki, authors of Organizational Behavior, glass ceiling is defined as the “invisible barrier blocking women and minorities from top management positions” (32??). A wage gap is the differentiation in salary between males and females who have comparable job titles, training experience, and education. There have been many issues in gender inequality in U.S. industries despite the advancements that have been made since the equal rights era began. This matter is not just for women but the economy as a whole due to the underlying question whether or not businesses are making the most productive use of the talent available. Patricia Surgeson, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, stated, “I was a layaway manager getting $7.50 an hour and when I moved to a new post in the cashier’s office my male replacement made nearly twice that much” (Wal-Mart Suit).
The following graph shows Women’s Earnings compared with Men’s who work at Wal-Mart. When the lawsuit was filed women who were employed with Wal-Mart grossed about $5,200 less than men in the same position. While there were 86 percent of men in upper level management positions, women only accounted for 14 percent.
GRAPH INSERTED HERE
Wal-Mart has denied its stores. But the chain is not as innocent as they make themselves out to be. It recently has been found in a report conducted by the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld that there were gender disparities in pay and promotion at Wal-Mart in Sam’s Club stores dating back to 1995 and they urged the company to take the basic steps necessary to rectify the situation to avoid liability. Wal-Mart obviously did not take this advice to heart and continued to demonstrate their espoused values instead their enacted values contained in their ethics statement. According to legally-protected status” (Walmart). These are Wal-Mart’s espoused values, but are they their enacted values?(Walmart Ethics).
I. B.
The most significant impact on organizational performance has been labeled the “Branding Crisis at Wal-Mart”. The derogatory press that has surrounded the Wal-Mart name in the last decade is not solely the result of the discrimination suit filed against them but it was certainly the catalyst that opened the door to closer observation of all of Wal-Mart’s policies and practices.

Wal-Mart.
In 2001, Betty Dukes along with six female co-workers filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart and its subsidiary Sam’s Club claiming gender-based discrimination in pay and promotions for hourly associates and salaried employees in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This act banned major types of discrimination against women and it ended unequal application of voter registration requirements in the workplace. Two years later, the plaintiffs moved to certify this as a class-action lawsuit to include women reporting similar experiences. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved this in 2004 and now the lawsuit involves over 1.6 million women working in 184 stores spanning over 30 states.
Wal-Mart has denied the allegations presented in the lawsuit and stated that they have discovered where women have wage equality and equivalent advancement opportunities to men in 90 percent of its stores. According to their website, “Wal-Mart will not tolerate discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, disability, ethnicity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, or any other legally-protected status” (Walmart). These are Wal-Mart’s espoused values, but are they their enacted values?
I. B.
The most significant impact on organizational performance has been labeled the “Branding Crisis at Wal-Mart”. The derogatory press that has surrounded the Wal-Mart name in the last decade is not solely the result of the discrimination suit filed against them but it was certainly the catalyst that opened the door to closer observation of all of Wal-Mart’s policies and practices.

Wal-Mart’s Discrimination Against Women Lawsuit
I. A.
InCompanies are facing a rising number of lawsuits associated with discrimination, wages, hours, and benefits. The feeble economy is playing a key role in the increase of lawsuits. Discrimination is a problem that is faced everywhere throughout the world which can be based on sex, skin color, nationality or disability. The most famous lawsuit that has spanned the past ten years is the class action lawsuit filed against
Wal-Mart.
In 2001, Betty Dukes along with six womenfemale co-workers filed a discrimination suitlawsuit against their employer, Wal-Mart. They accused Wal-Mart of discriminating against women regarding wages and job advancement. Wal-Mart denied the allegationsits subsidiary Sam’s Club claiming gender-based discrimination in pay and expected the courts, political advocates,promotions for hourly associates and other large corporations to support their position. However,salaried employees in August 2010 the 9th Circuit Courtviolation of Title VII of Appeals upheld the ruling1964 Civil Rights Act. This act banned major types of discrimination against women and it ended unequal application of voter registration requirements in the lower court allowingworkplace. Two years later, the suit against Wal-Martplaintiffs moved to continue. It is nowcertify this as a class-action suit representing as many as 1.5 women.lawsuit to include women reporting similar experiences. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved this in 2004 and now the lawsuit involves over 1.6 million women working in 184 stores spanning over 30 states.
I. B.
The most significant impact on organizational performance has been labeled the “Branding Crisis at Wal-Mart”. The derogatory press that has surrounded the Wal-Mart name in the last decade is not solely the result of the discrimination suit filed against them but it was certainly the catalyst that opened the door to closer observation of all of Wal-Mart’s policies and practices.

{Assessment of Problem Causation.docx}
Wal-Mart’s Discrimination Against Women Lawsuit
I. A.
In 2001, six women filed a discrimination suit against their employer, Wal-Mart. They accused Wal-Mart of discriminating against women regarding wages and job advancement. Wal-Mart denied the allegations and expected the courts, political advocates, and other large corporations to support their position. However, in August 2010 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling of the lower court allowing the suit against Wal-Mart to continue. It is now a class-action suit representing as many as 1.5 women.
I. B.
The most significant impact on organizational performance has been labeled the “Branding Crisis at Wal-Mart”. The derogatory press that has surrounded the Wal-Mart name in the last decade is not solely the result of the discrimination suit filed against them but it was certainly the catalyst that opened the door to closer observation of all of Wal-Mart’s policies and practices.
Wal-Mart stock dropped 11% and 8% of their customers stopped shopping with them in the 5 years following the filing of the discrimination suit. In a more recent report (Feb. 11, 2011) Wal-Mart posted their greatest decline ever following the 7th straight sales decline in their U.S. stores.
The lawsuit opened the door for closer observation of all Wal-Mart employee’s wages and it was found that wages for all employees on average were $10.11 per hour and average wages for women only were even less.
In 2008, Hilary Clinton returned a campaign contribution made by Wal-Mart and that lead the way for other political figures, particularly among the Democratic Party, to withdraw their support of Wal-Mart’s expansion. Unsavory as it sounds, without political backing, other unlawful or unethical Wal-Mart practices were exposed, such as forcing employees to work off the clock and neglecting to pay overtime, and preventing rest and lunch breaks.
Labor Unions have used the court’s denial for appeal as a platform to keep Wal-Mart out of states where unions are strong and active.
Wal-Mart has to date denied that they have acted in any discriminatory way towards women, thought their own records support the claims that they have. In light of the denial, they have taken no corrective action. However, they have been forced to take action in other areas.
In 2006 they began a TV advertising campaign aimed at restoring their image as a value to the community. The effort has not been successful and their stock continues fall, the number of customers who no longer choose to shop with them grows, and the criticism of Wal-Mart practices has extended to every area of their organization.
Again, the gender discrimination lawsuit aimed at their unfair treatment of women is not the sole cause of many of the organizational impacts at Wal-Mart but it did clearly begin the poisoning of the Wal-Mart brand name.

{Assessment of Problem Causation.docx}

Welcome!!! I hope that this is going to be helpful for us gettting our paper in order. I have added a new page to the left called Group Paper where we can attach what we have for the topic we were assigned. I think that we should set a date that our portion needs to be completed by so we have time to complete the last two parts and the presentation. Let me know your thoughts.
Heather...I am so sorry !! I was just now able to get into the Wiki. It kept giving me an error message about someone else having the same email address so I couldn't get past the sign-in page. I looked up my old Wiki PW and tried it...IT WORKED!!! Go figure..... Avery
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