Michael A. Kakuk  |  May 17, 2017

Category: Labor & Employment

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RIDGECREST, UNITED STATES - APRIL 12, 2014: Walmart store in Ridgecrest, California. Walmart is a retail corporation with 8,970 locations and revenue of US$ 469 billion (FY 2013).A class action lawsuit filed against Walmart alleges that the company discriminates against its female employees when they are pregnant in violation of Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act.

The Walmart pregnancy discrimination class action lawsuit asserts that in 2013 and 2014, Walmart had a company policy “which discriminated on the basis of sex by providing more favorable accommodations to non-pregnant employees than to pregnant employees similar in ability or inability to work.”

The complaint notes that many women are unable to perform certain tasks while they are pregnant, such as heavy lifting or standing for long periods of time. By failing to provide alternatives for these workers, or “accommodation” under the Civil Rights Act, Walmart “treat[ed] pregnant employees as second-class citizens,” according to the lawsuit.

The Walmart class action states that in 2014 Walmart changed its accommodation policy, and did not specifically exclude pregnancy from a list of medical conditions that could be accommodated. The class action argues that this change in its policy highlights that the old policy excluded pregnancy in violation of federal law.

The class action provides two examples of Walmart’s conduct against its employees under the old policy. First, plaintiff Talisa Borders states that she lives in St. Louis, and between July 2012 and April 2017 she was employed by Walmart. In 2013, Borders was pregnant, and was told to get a note from her doctor if she couldn’t lift heavy boxes or climb a ladder. When Borders provided a doctor’s note to her supervisor and human resources personnel, they refused to allow her to continue working.

Borders claims that Walmart personnel told her it was against company policy to provide accommodations, and made her take unpaid leave. Borders says she did not work for several months, and when she returned six weeks after the birth of her child, she was given a lower paying job.

Second, plaintiff Otisha Woolbright states that she worked at a Walmart in Jacksonville, Florida from August 2013 through January 2014. When she became pregnant, she had complications and was told by her doctor that she must avoid heavy lifting.

Woolbirght states that she tried to give the doctor’s note to her supervisor at Walmart, but that the supervisor refused. According to the complaint, the supervisor told Woolbright that she could either do her job, or walk out the door. Woolbright claims that she asked to transfer departments, but was refused. And when Woolbright asked about Walmart’s policies on taking leave for childbirth, she was fired by the store manager.

The discrimination lawsuit requests certification of a Class of all female employees of any Walmart store in the U.S., who requested accommodation because of a pregnancy but were denied between March 19, 2013, and the date Walmart implemented its changed accommodation policy. The class action seeks damages for putative Class Members for “physical and mental injuries…loss of income and benefits, mental anguish, emotional distress, and humiliation.”

Borders and Woolbright are represented by Donna L. Harper and Mary Anne Sedey of Sedey Harper Westhoff P.C., by Cyrus Mehri, Michael D. Lieder, U.W. Clemon, and Brett D. Watson of Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, by Dina Bakst and Elizabeth Gedmark of A Better Balance, and by Emily Martin and Andrea Johnson of the National Women’s Law Center.

The Walmart Pregnancy Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit is Talisa Borders, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-00506, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

UPDATE: On March 29, 2018, an Illinois federal judge denied a bid by Walmart to dismiss a class action lawsuit accusing it of discriminating against pregnant employees.

UPDATE 2: On Oct. 15, 2019, Walmart settled a class action lawsuit for $14 million filed by pregnant workers who claim the company discriminated against them because they were pregnant.

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21 thoughts onWalmart Class Action Says Pregnant Employees Face Discrimination

  1. Brittany Kamrow says:

    2013 I had a hole in my placenta doctors note to be put on light duty. They refused to accommodate and 2 managers fired me and told me to get a job at a mom and pop store while laughing in my face. I lost my home and couldnt afford to see a doctor for months. I almost lost my daughter because of them.

  2. Jessica says:

    Walmart fired me for “meal exceptions “ in 2015 I was pregnant.
    Before that at the store I started for Walmart and worked couple years for them i also got “exceptions” but were all forgiven no big deal I transferred . I was not pregnant. They fired me while pregnant for going to lunch seconds too early. But the time clock won’t warn us if it’s too soon since we clocked in. I was hungry, thirsty and had morning sickness. They fired me. I thought I did some bad thing. Felt horrible for year . I had gone back to Walmart hoping to not make the same mistakes. I failed I got more “exceptions “ but management forgave those. I was not pregnant.
    My life fed was horrible while pregnant. I was hungry with empty fridge. They dumped my family and I while pregnant and all my Benefits position schedule. They have no clue what their “policies” do to people. It needs to change. My life and my kids should not have suffered this. Then they fight for my job at times I was not pregnant.

  3. KAYCE HUNTER says:

    I was diagnosed with double carpal tunnel syndrome after 9 1/2 years working at Wal-Mart. I needed to take a leave of abseccense to get the surgeries and when i needed to come back to work they wouldn’t accommodate megabit told me that I would need a descriptive Dr. Note to come back to work. Along with that occurring when i did get back to work I got I’ll and suffered a double kidney infection and needed to take another leave of abscence. I submitted ALL PAPERWORK ACCORDINGLY AND WAS ACUSED OF NOT TURNING IN PAPERWORK IN TIME WHICH WAS NOT THE CASE. ULTIMATELY, I was fired! I am a single mother of three boys and two are syikk under the age of 18. Its been a struggle since.

  4. T says:

    Walmart also terminates employees who intend to take FMLA due to illness and disability. They notoriously refuse accommodations for disabled individuals who turn in doctor’s notes as per Walmart policy. Walmart makes up lies to terminate those employees.

  5. Nikki says:

    They need to go back longer for the years on this. The reason being they need to look at when they changed policies on reasonable accommodations. Many women or other employees probably feared turning in a doctors note due to being forced to take vacation time, personal time and or sick time. Let alone if you used it because of the restrictions in the beginning then you didnt have it in the end to use when you really needed it. You feared whether or not you would have your job, if it counted against you and not to mention that you were only given so many weeks per year for FMLA. If you went over those weeks, your job was no longer protected, you could lose money if you had to go to a different department that was a different pay scale than yours (or you made a few cents more but less likely because you’d get moved to be a cashier). Plenty of women feared going to the doctor to get notes while pregnant because by getting one you could be punished for being pregnant and needing special treatment. Your hours get cut if your part time, if you can’t do your job then its the mentality that you are not needed. I myself waited till I was almost 6 months pregnant before I turned my note it. I pulled pallets of water, pushed heavy carts, transferred heavy items just so they couldn’t tell me I had to take the time off.

  6. Teri Nabours says:

    My niece had the same thing just happen to her…but it happened at Subway…does anybody know what she can do about it

  7. Crystal says:

    I was pointed out because my manager would not take my doctors excuse for days I missed while on bed rest.

  8. Kayla says:

    I too provides a note from my Dr that I couldn’t lift and needed a temporary position which had the option to sit, which they had. The manager told me they could not accommodate for me with extra breaks or a.stool or a temporary position at the table they had for months on end regarding credit card applications.
    Nearly A week later, i passed out and hit the a buggy nearby, then the floor. I also lost one of my twins due to this. Then was fired for needing time off.
    I was not aware of the option of filing anything until later. I wish I had known.

  9. anonymous says:

    i was terminated roughly 2 weeks after letting my manager know i was expecting
    i wish to remain anonymous do to a pending suit
    the trem happened in feb of this year at the distribution center in minnesota

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