Posts Tagged ‘ Discrimination ’

Wal-Mart Class Action Classless? wait and see…

December 9th, 2010. By LucyC

Wal-Mart’s making employment news again. Seems like they’re never really out of the news. You have to hand it to them—at least they’re consistent—consistently at odds with their employees, that is.

This time Wal-Mart has the auspicious honor of facing what could be the largest sex-discrimination case in US history, if the US Supreme Court, which agreed on Monday to examine the class-action at Wal-Mart’s behest, says the lawsuit can proceed as a class action.

But this story started almost a decade ago, when the suit was originally filed. The allegations are that Wal-Mart paid its female employees less than its male employees and gave them fewer opportunities for promotion. Not very original, but also not very surprising, given the retailer’s track record.

Wal-Mart objects to the case being allowed to go forward as a class action because of its size, and because the women involved reportedly worked at thousands—yes thousands of different stores—with potentially different issues.

However, all this hinges on the definition of a “class”. The larger issue at play here, and one which is being watched closely, is how a “class” is defined. Wal-Mart’s petition is being supported by other large players including Bank of America Corp, General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp. According to a piece in the Wall Street Journal, these companies say that an earlier ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which essentially authorized the class action suit to proceed, could, if allowed to stand, “expose other companies to staggering liability by allowing unrelated discrimination claims to proceed as class action suits.”

Wal-Mart claims the Appeals Court misapplied the standards for defining a class, and as a result has left it exposed to punitive damages when it should be liable only for back pay. (WSJ) 

So the Supreme Court has agreed to review whether the potential plaintiffs in the class have enough in common to warrant a ‘class action’—that their claims can be fairly decided in a single action.

Just as an aside, and for those of us not up on the ins-and-outs of class actions—this particular type of lawsuit combines multiple claims against a common defendant or defendants, into a single claim. This enables the courts to provide redress for large-scale ‘wrongdoing’ where it might not be possible on a case-by-case basis. We have a very comprehensive FAQ on class actions.

Back to Wal-Mart. Lawyers representing the ‘class’ allege that the retailer victimized its female employees through a ‘centralized corporate culture’ and are, therefore, entitled to be represented in a class.

If the Supreme Court finds against Wal–Mart in its review of the case, and allows the suit to proceed as a class action, the class could involve as many as 1.5 million plaintiffs. The potential pay out could be billions in damages and back-pay. And there’s the rub. 

BTW—this wouldn’t be the first time Wal-Mart has faced a discrimination class action. They were recently sued over workplace discrimination involving Latino employees at a Sam’s Club in Fresno, California, alleging a hostile work environment. The plaintiffs claim they were verbally harassed, including having derogatory words used against them. The lawsuit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which, according to Al Norman, writer with The Huffington Post, “does not file a suit unless it has given up trying to work out a voluntary agreement with a company.”

So, the Supreme Court justices will make a ruling on the class action issue—which will determine how the suit—or suits—proceed. But the arguments likely won’t be heard until the spring, and a ruling not made until the summer of 2011. Not to seem dark in any way, but some plaintiffs could be dead by the time this matter is finally settled. 

And Wal-Mart does have the motivation and the bucks to drag this out. According to a report in the Wichita Business Journal “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a profit of $3.4 billion, or 95 cents per diluted share, on sales of $101.2 billion for the quarter ending Oct. 31. That compares to income of $3.1 billion, or 82 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $98.7 billion for the same quarter last year.” 

Wal-Mart, in addition to being an employer of ill-repute—also seems to be recession proof—on the backs of its employees.

Tags: Discrimination, Wal-Mary
Posted in Employment | No Comments »

Cross-Dressers: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

October 8th, 2010. By AbiK

Wanna know why cross-dressers continue to fight an uphill battle for acceptance? It’s because of situations like this. Just ask Dayanara Fernandez.

See, a while back, we posted about American Eagle Outfitters agreeing to ditch their rule about cross-dressers. The rule basically banned cross-dressed attire from showing up on AE employees at work. Like it or not, it was a step toward “mainstreaming”, if you will, and recognizing cross-dressers as a group that should not be discriminated against. Baby steps on a long road, but still.

But now, we hear Dayanara’s story. Apparently she had been a guest at the Deerfield, IL Hyatt hotel last June. And, as a hotel guest typically does at some point during their stay, she went back to her room. Only she must’ve felt like she’d just dropped in on scene straight out of Goldilocks and the Three Bears when she realized “someone’s been in my room…and he’s still here!”

Indeed he was—the “he” being a Hyatt employee. And, he was wearing her panties, skirt and high-heeled shoes, according to the complaint that was subsequently filed. He was Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Cross-Dresser, Dayanara Fernandez, Discrimination, Hyatt
Posted in Discrimination, Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Riddle: How Many Make a Class for a Wal-Mart Class Action?

September 1st, 2010. By LucyC

Question: How many people does it take to make a class in a class action lawsuit?

Answer: That depends on how much money you have to spend.

Faced with a potential class action lawsuit over allegations that the world’s largest private employer discriminated (discriminates?) against its female employees, Wal-Mart has so far managed to avoid a trial by insisting that the roughly 1 million women who worked for them since 2001 don’t constitute a class. That’s nine years of legal wrangling and it ain’t over yet.

Just as a quick reference, according to one legal dictionary I checked the definition of a class is: “a lawsuit that allows a large number of people with a common interest in a matter to sue or be sued as a group.” That seems fairly straight forward to me. As indeed it did to a federal court judge in 2004, who ruled that the women do constitute a class. Wal-Mart, apparently having the funds available to drag this out—appealed the decision, but in April, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled that the 1 million women constitutes a class, and that the case could proceed.

But no. Not yet. Wal-Mart—the harbingers of “Save Money. Live Better.”—seem to be following their own advice to the letter, figuring it’s likely cheaper to fight this now than risk going to court or paying a settlement—both outcomes they are very familiar with—is taking the matter to the Supreme Court. 

A recent editorial in the NY Times states this is “probably a smart legal move, given the Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Discrimination, Employment, Fair Pay, Wal-Mart, Walmart
Posted in Employment | 2 Comments »

Overweight and Want a Manicure? Pay a Fat Surcharge!

August 24th, 2010. By LucyC

What would you do if you were charged, without advance notice, an additional fee for wear and tear of equipment related to a service you were purchasing, simply because you are overweight?

For example, if you went into a nail bar for a pedicure, for an advertised price, and were subsequently charged an additional $5 more at the end of your session because you were deemed to be over 200 lbs? Yup, you read that correctly. The five dollars would be a kind of tax, fine, levy…actually, I don’t know what category, besides discrimination, that charge would fit under.

Neither does the person who was charged the $5, as it turns out. Oh, it’s a true story. Short version, Michelle Fonville from Georgia, was charged an additional $5 by Kim Tran, the salon manager of Natural Nails in DeKalb County, as a surcharge to the salon for chairs broken by overweight customers, MSNBC.com is reporting.

It’s only my opinion, but I find that a bit of a cheek, for a variety of reasons, not the least being that all sorts of people use the chairs all day long—presumably—so how could wear and tear be solely the fault of people over 200 lbs? And, how could Ms. Tran Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Discrimination, Georgia, Nail Salon, Overweight surcharge
Posted in Discrimination | 1 Comment »

Islamic Center Controversy is Discriminatory

August 24th, 2010. By janem

A book I recently read has greatly influenced my opinion about the current Islamic issue—the controversy over the planned Islamic Center to be built near ground zero. I believe this book is so important, especially right now, given the current animosity toward Muslims. In fact, Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, should be required reading in high school, just like “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The two books are similar– both tell a story of discrimination— except that the latter is fiction and Zeitoun is a true story.

Just days after hurricane Katrina, an American citizen from Syria was detained by the US government then inhumanely imprisoned without charges in a makeshift jail that sounds worse than Guantanamo Bay. Abdulrahman Zeitoun stayed in New Orleans after the flooding: He paddled from house to house in a canoe, helping neighbors and feeding dogs left behind. In return, the government treated him worse than an animal…

In August 2006 Kathy and Abdulrahman Zeitoun filed a lawsuit against the City of New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin, the state of Louisiana and the state police. The suit alleged false imprisonment and false arrest of Mr. Zeitoun during the aftermath of Hurricane. Katrina.  Here is the Disposition:

“Mr. Zeitoun was transported in the van to the Union Passenger train station in New Orleans, fingerprinted, photographed, and retained in police custody, where he remained for three days and suffered a large splinter for which he was denied medical treatment. On the third day, Appellants allege that Mr. Zeitoun was transported to the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, where he informed the employees of his religious beliefs which disallowed the consumption of pork, but that this request was disregarded, as well as requests for medical treatment. Next, Appellants assert that Mr. Zeitoun was brought to a maximum security prison, where his requests to telephone his wife and have medical treatment  were denied, and that although he was eventually permitted to use the telephone, he missed his turn because he fell asleep while waiting.”

Mr. Zeitoun was charged with looting and possession of stolen goods and bail was set at $75,000.00. Because he never made contact with Kathy or anyone outside the prison, he was unable to post bond—no one knew where he was, except the government. He was suspected of being a terrorist. In fact one of his guards called him “Taliban”.

(Unfortunately the lawsuit was thrown out, but the Zeitouns’ are trying again.)

Back to the Islamic Center. All white people aren’t considered KKK, so why are Muslims considered terrorists?

Shame on you, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada and Howard Dean, former national party chairman, for calling the proposed Islamic Center project “a real affront to those who lost their lives.” What happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun mirrors this kind of mentality toward Muslims and that is why I hope every high school student will read the book, and then do everything they can to ensure that prejudice and discrimination won’t happen again. “In America every Muslim has no rights,” Zeitoun said.  “There are too many stories worse than mine.”

By the way, Dave Eggers has given all author proceeds of the book to the Zeitoun Foundation, which is “dedicated to rebuilding New Orleans and fostering interfaith understanding.”

Tags: Discrimination, Muslim discrimination, Zeitoun
Posted in Discrimination | No Comments »