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A class action lawsuit has been waged against Sunshine Cleaners Plus over allegations that the dry cleaners charge a “pink tax,” in that they charge more money for women’s dry cleaning services than for men’s services.
Plaintiff Carla Been says she brought in two shirts to be dry cleaned by the defendant. One of the shirts was a long-sleeved button-up men’s dress shirt made of 100 percent cotton and the other shirt was a similar long-sleeved, button-up woman’s dress shirt made of 100 percent cotton.
The plaintiff claims that on the receipt it showed that she was charged $7.40 for the woman’s shirt and $6.90 for the similar man’s shirt.
The Sunshine Cleaners Plus class action lawsuit states, “Despite the two sets of shirts being materially identical in terms of style and material – and despite the fact the ‘men’s’ shirts consisted of a greater amount of fabric, Plaintiff was charged substantially more for the ‘women’s’ and/or ‘blouse’ than she was charged for the ‘men’s’ shirt.”
The dry cleaning class action lawsuit alleges that studies have revealed that women, on a systematic and wide-spread basis, are charged more than men for the exact same products or services.
“This gender-based price discrimination is indisputably harmful to women, adding another layer to the wage inequality that women face, ultimately making it harder for women to make ends meet,” the class action lawsuit states.
The Sunshine Cleaners class action lawsuit states that not every example of gender discrimination in pricing is unjustified. The plaintiff states that there are instances where differences in pricing is legitimate.
That said, the plaintiff claims that for every justified instance of gender discrimination, there are “scores” more instances where the practice is not justified.
“This lawsuit concerns a particularly pernicious and predatory example of unfair gender-discriminatory pricing: Defendant’s practice of charging, across-the-board, a substantially greater amount to dry-clean women’s shirts than Defendant charges to dry-clean men’s shirts,” the dry cleaning class action states.
The plaintiff claims that there is no difference between the materials and labor used for women’s versus men’s shirts to justify a difference in price for cleaning services.
The Sunshine Cleaners class action lawsuit alleges that women residing in Missouri are protected by the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA) which specifically outlaws these unfair practices.
“By bringing this lawsuit, Plaintiff Carla Been aims not only to protect and to compensate all Missouri women victimized by Defendants in this manner, but also to punish and make an example of Defendant for its long-standing, insidious and predatory gender discrimination through the institution of punitive damages,” the plaintiff claims.
This is not the first class action lawsuit that has been filed alleging a “pink tax.” In July 2019, a class action lawsuit was filed against Schick, claiming that the company’s razors are priced higher than those that are sold to men. The plaintiff in that case is the same woman who has filed the current case against Sunshine Cleaners.
Proposed Class Members include: “All consumers in Missouri that, at any time during the Class Period, paid Defendant to dry clean ‘women’s shirt(s)’ and/or ‘blouse(s).’ In so doing, each class member was victimized by Defendant’s ‘unfair practice’ in violation of the MMPA – Defendant’s grossly overcharging customers to dry-clean ‘women’s shirts’ and/or ‘blouses’ compared to ‘men’s shirts’.”
Have you noticed that you pay more for women’s clothes than men’s clothes at the dry cleaners? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff originally filed this class action lawsuit in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Missouri and has been removed to federal court.
The plaintiff is represented by Daniel F. Harvath of Harvath Law Group LLC
The “Pink Tax” Dry Cleaners Class Action Lawsuit is Carla Been v. Sunshine Cleaners Pus Inc., Case No. 4:19-cv-02836, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
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