Wal-Mart Gender Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit Filed in Tennessee

By Matt O'Donnell

 

Three female Wal-Mart employees in Tennessee have filed a class action gender discrimination lawsuit against the retailer, claiming they were “denied promotion” and are earning “thousands of dollars” less than their male counterparts due to their gender.

It is the third regional-focused gender discrimination class action lawsuit filed against Wal-Mart since the Supreme Court threw out a national class action lawsuit in 2011 seeking to represent 1.5 million female employees. It was the largest sex discrimination lawsuit in U.S. history, but was ultimately denied certification after the Supreme Court ruled the women did not have enough in common to proceed as a group. As a result, several smaller state class action lawsuits have been filed, including one in northern California (Dukes v. Wal-Mart) and another in North Texas (Odle v. Wal-Mart).

Plaintiffs Cheryl Phipps, Bobbi Millner and Shawn Gibbons – all long-term employees of Wal-Mart – filed the sex discrimination lawsuit on Tuesday on behalf of female Wal-Mart employees in Tennessee, and parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Mississippi.

The women claim they were paid significantly less than male colleagues and were told they could not be promoted to management because it was a “man’s job.” One male manager at a Franklin, Tennessee, store allegedly told a female worker that “women should be seen and not heard,” the class action lawsuit alleges.  

“We seek justice for ourselves and all Wal-Mart women workers in this region who have been denied equal pay and opportunities for promotion,” Phipps said in a statement.

 

The women are seeking unspecified punitive damages.

 

The Tennessee Wal-Mart Gender Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit case is Phipps v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Case No. 12-cv-01009, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville). 

 

Updated October 5th, 2012

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