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Walmart has settled a class action lawsuit for $14 million filed by pregnant workers who claim the company discriminated against them because they were pregnant.
According to the Walmart class action settlement, the amount each Class Member will receive ranges between $819 and $2,049.
“For comparison purposes, $2,049.24 is roughly equivalent to 215.7 hours of backpay at the average hourly rate for a Walmart sales associate of $9.50 per hour as estimated by Plaintiffs’ expert,” the Walmart class action settlement states.
In their Walmart class action, plaintiffs Talisa Borders, Otisha Woolbright, and Stacey Lewis asserted that Walmart had a written policy that was discriminatory until March 2014 that did not provide pregnant workers with the same benefits provided to other workers, which they say is in violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.
In March 2013, plaintiff Borders told Walmart that she couldn’t lift more than 25 pounds because of a pregnancy-related restriction. The motion for preliminary approval of the settlement states that Walmart denied her request for light duty even though this type of duty was provided to those that were injured on the job.
The motion claims that Walmart told Borders that she was required to take an unpaid leave of absence, which was based on Walmart’s policy.
Both plaintiffs Borders and Woolbright filed this class action lawsuit in May 2017, over allegations that Walmart denied their requests for accommodations because of their pregnancies between March 2013 and March 2014
The Walmart class action lawsuit alleged that the “policy treated workers with disabilities more favorably than pregnant workers who were similar in their ability or inability to work.”
In April 2018, Walmart was denied a motion to dismiss the case. Walmart had filed the motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and also moved to dismiss plaintiff Woolbright’s claims for lack of personal jurisdiction.
The proposed settlement agreement states that the parties have proposed a 60-day notice period which would begin after an order preliminarily approving the agreement.
“Walmart will provide class members and potential class member names and last-known contact information, including email addresses if available, to the claims administrator within 10 business days of the order. Notice by U.S. Mail, and email where available, will follow within 20 business days of the order,” the motion for preliminary approval states.
The Walmart class action settlement also states that the attorneys for the plaintiffs will ask for no more than 33.33 percent of the fund for attorneys’ fees and not more than $275,00 in legal costs.
The motion states that there are two sets of proposed Classes in this case because some pregnant workers were processed by Walmart’s centralized Accommodation Service Center (ASC), while other requests were not.
“The ASC Settlement Class consists of all women employed by Walmart at stores in the 39 National Policy States who were denied requested accommodations because of pregnancy by the ASC during the Time Period (between March 19, 2013 and March 5, 2014, inclusive),” the Walmart settlement states.
Also, “The Non-ASC Settlement Class consists of all women employed by Walmart at stores nationwide who were denied requested accommodations because of pregnancy by store level management and/or store-level human resource personnel during the Time Period,” the motion for preliminary approval notes.
Were you denied accommodations at work while being pregnant? Leave a message in the comments section below.
Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.
The plaintiffs are represented by Mary Anne Sedey and Donna Harper of Sedey Harper Westhoff PC, Ellen Eardley, Cyrus Mehri, Michael D. Lieder and Lauren Nussbaum of Mehri & Skalet PLLC, Dina Bakst, Elizabeth Chen and Elizabeth Gedmark of A Better Balance and Emily Martin and Sunu Chandy of the National Women’s Law Center.
The Walmart Pregnancy Class Action Lawsuit is Borders, et al. v. Walmart Stores Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-00506, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
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20 thoughts onWalmart Settles Pregnancy Bias Class Action For $14M
I was shocked to come upon this and then to know I wasn’t able to be included. I was pregnant while working for Walmart in 2001 and 2002. If they open this back up please add me!
Was Pregnant 2013-2014 while employeed at Walmart. At the beginning of my pregnancy, I was working Asset Protection. My manager left me in the office, which was also our suspect detention room, with a suspect that had a loaded gun, alone. First, a female is to never be left alone with a Male, second has was armed and shoplifting.
I left Asset Protection after that to work in Automotive. Around 8 months I was required to lift an 50+ LB air compressor by my department manager. I asked for assistance, she denied me, and told me that it was in my job description and that just because I was pregnant I didn’t deserve any “special treatment”.
I had to leave early that night, I had started bleeding pretty heavily. I went to the hospital to get checked out, and luckily the baby was fine. I had torn something they said. I was reprimanded a few days later for leaving to get medical care.
When it came time to give birth in January 2014, I was denied my maternity leave. When I come back to return to work, I was told I was not going to be employeed with the company, that I was going to be terminated for the time I took off without approval.
I was pregnant in 1998-1999 i had first trimester bleeding in 1999 and put on a weight restriction of no more than 10 lbs and light duty. Walmart said they do not have light duty and therefore i had to take a early leave of absence… baby born October of 1999
I was pregnant in 1998-1999 i have first trimester bleeding in 1999 and put on a weight restriction of no more than 10 lbs and light duty. Walmart said they do not have light duty and therefore i had to take a early leave of absence… baby born October of 1999
I was pregnant in 2013 while working at Walmart & I lost it. Then a few months later I had a partial hysterectomy and had to take unpaid Leave of absence while recovering even though I a was full time associate. In 2015 I was still employed and had surgery to have my ovaries removed because of continuous cysts Coming up. I had to take another unpaid leave of absence & when drs released me to go back to work except to be on light duty restrictions and not to be on my feet no more than an hour at a time with no lifting over 5 lbs. At first Walmart told me they did not have anything I could do with being on light duty restrictions.
Then after a week of no pay after being released from dr to go back to work Walmart decided to put me as a door greeter in garden center and I was not allowed to sit down. I did not get a break til after 2 hours after and I was suppose to be able to atleast sit after one hour. I worked a full 8 hour shift that day. I was doubled over in pain after work & still in pain for at least two days afterwards. I called & told a member of management that I quit because my health was more important & I was in pain from not being allowed to sit after an hour of being on my feet so I could not do the job. 2 to 3 days later Personal called me and said I have been a no call no show for 3 days that they was going to have to let me go. I told her no I already talked to a member of management and told her I quit due to not being able to do the job per requested by walmart cause they did not want to let go by the restrictions my dr gave me.
My name when I first started in 2012 was Melissa Byrd at the time I quit in 2015 was Melissa Holloway.
I work at Wal-Mart my HR were cut down.
When I worked at walmart I was pregnant and I was working alot of hrs and I told the person who schedules my hr to cut down some of my hrs that I cant work that much it was just to much for me they said they couldn’t and then I went to work one day and blacked out and then from then on got sicker and sicker. Finally i had to quite my job there bc of me being sick for being pushed to hard at working
Yes I definitely was when I worked at Walmart from 2009 til 2011 was the year I had my baby