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JOCELYN
D. LARKIN (SBN 110817) THE
IMPACT FUND 125
University Avenue Berkeley,
CA 94710 Telephone: (510)
845-3473 Facsimile: (510) 845-3654 |
JOSEPH
SELLERS CHRISTINE
WEBBER COHEN,
MILSTEIN, HAUSFELD & TOLL West
Tower – Suite 500 1100
New York Avenue Washington,
D.C. 20005-3964 Telephone: (202) 408-4600 Facsimile: (202) 408-4699 |
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IRMA
D. HERRERA (SBN 98658) DEBRA
A. SMITH (SBN 147863) EQUAL
RIGHTS ADVOCATES 1663
Mission Street, Suite 250 San
Francisco, CA 94103 Telephone: (415)
621-0672 Facsimile: (415) 621-6744 |
STEPHEN
TINKLER MERIT
BENNETT TINKLER
& BENNETT 309
Johnson Street Santa
Fe, New Mexico 87501 Telephone: (505) 986-0269 Facsimile: (505) 982-6698 |
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SHEILA
Y. THOMAS (SBN 161403) EQUAL
RIGHTS ADVOCATES 5260
Proctor Avenue Oakland,
CA 94618 Telephone: (510) 339-3739 Facsimile: (510) 339-3723 |
DEBRA
GARDNER PUBLIC
JUSTICE CENTER 500
East Lexington Street Baltimore,
MD 21202 Telephone: (410) 625-9409 Facsimile: (410) 625-9423 |
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STEVE
STEMERMAN (SBN 067690) ELIZABETH
LAWRENCE (SBN 111781) DAVIS,
COWELL & BOWE 100
Van Ness Avenue, 20th Floor San
Francisco, CA 94102 Telephone: (415)
626-1880 Facsimile: (415) 626-2860 Attorneys for Plaintiffs |
SHAUNA
MARSHALL (SBN 90641) HASTINGS
COLLEGE OF THE LAW 200
McAllister Street San Francisco, CA 94102 Telephone: (415)
565-4685 Facsimile: (415) 565-4854 |
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
I, Sheila Acree, declare:
1. I am a female former employee of Wal-Mart. I reside in Missouri.
2. Prior to my employment at Wal-Mart, I had more than 15 years'
experience working in retail stores, including eight years as an assistant
manager.
3. I worked at a Wal-Mart store in Chillicothe, Missouri from
September 1994 to February 2000 as a Sales Associate and from May 2000 to April
2001 as a Cashier. I was interested in
and qualified for management positions, but I could never find any written
information about the Management Training Program or other promotional
opportunities. Many hourly supervisor
positions in the Chillicothe store were not posted, which prevented me from
expressing my interest in those jobs. I
was never mentored or encouraged toward my goal of becoming a Wal-Mart manager.
4. As a Sales Associate in the Ladies' Wear, Men's Wear,
Lingerie, and Infants Departments, I gained a lot of experience in the job
responsibilities of a clothing department manager. In approximately 1997, I performed all Department
Manager duties for about a month while the Lingerie Department Manager (Lisa
Lenhoff) was on vacation. Also in
approximately 1997, Assistant Manager Linda Donath and Management Trainee Bart
Gabert selected me to help train employees in the clothing departments of a new
Wal-Mart that was opening in Kansas City, Missouri. In approximately 1998, Assistant Manager
Karen Thomas assigned me to train new employees in the clothing departments at
the Chillicothe store.
5. My qualifications and experience are reflected in several of
my performance evaluations. In 1997, my
evaluation was “above standard,” and it states, “[Sheila] is able to step in
when department manager is gone and take care of the department.” (True and correct copy attached hereto as
Acree Exhibit A.) In 1998, my evaluation
was “above standard,” and it states, “[Sheila] is a fast productive worker.
... She does a good job in accomplishing
her goals and meeting deadlines. ... Sheila is able to take care of [the
Lingerie Department] when the dept. mgr. is gone.” (True and correct copy attached hereto as
Acree Exhibit B.) My 1999 evaluation was
“exceeds expectations.” (True and
correct copy attached hereto as Acree Exhibit C.) Store Manager Frank Chaney signed these three
evaluations.
6. At the Chillicothe store, open hourly supervisor positions
were not always posted, which meant that I could not always express my interest
in open positions. I monitored job
postings, and applied for some posted hourly supervisor positions, which I saw
as a way to learn about management at Wal-Mart in the absence of written
information. However, I often saw that
management selected employees for promotion without first posting the job and
allowing me a chance to even express interest in the position. For example, I recall that the Fabrics Department
Manager position was not posted and was filled before I could apply. Despite my qualifications, I was never
interviewed for any promotional opportunity, and I was never promoted to an
hourly supervisor position.
7. To my recollection, Support Manager positions were never
posted in the Chillicothe store. I never
saw any written information in the store or on the internal computer system
about required qualifications or the application process for Support Manager
jobs. During the course of the seven
years I worked at Wal-Mart, I remember only two women who held the position of
Support Manager.
8. There was never an opportunity to express interest in the
Management Training Program. There was
no application process or procedure to sign up for interviews.
9. After each instance in which I was denied a promotion, I used
the Open Door to meet with Store Manager Frank Chaney to ask why I had not been
selected. Each time, Mr. Chaney told me
he did not know why I was not selected.
Mr. Chaney never told me that I had performance problems that would
prevent my promotion. Mr. Chaney never
gave me verbal or written information about the necessary qualifications for
Department Manager, Support Manager, or the Management Training Program. He provided no mentoring to help me become a
Wal-Mart manager.
10. In approximately 2000, after Store Manager Chaney again failed
to give a meaningful response to my request for information about why I did not
get a posted promotion, I used the Open Door to talk with the District Manager
about being passed over for promotions.
When I called the District Manager, he was unavailable to speak with me,
so I left a message with his assistant.
I never received a return phone call from the District Manager or his
assistant, despite Wal-Mart’s “Sundown Rule,” which requires managers to
respond on the same day to an employee or customer complaint. This confirmed my belief that Wal-Mart had no
interest in promoting me.
11. During the period of 1997 to 1999, I had to take several
medical leaves of absence to care for my husband, who had five heart attacks
during those two years. Even during
those two years, my evaluation ratings were “above standard” and ‘exceeds
expectations.” (See Acree
Exhibits A, B, C.) I received one verbal
coaching for attendance issues. I was
never told that my medical leaves of absence would prevent me from obtaining a
promotion to Department Manager or other management positions.
12. In February 2000, I left Wal-Mart in frustration with being
passed over for promotion and the lack of information about promotional
opportunities, but I returned after about two months. Even though I had more than six years of
experience as a Sales Associate, and even though I specifically requested a
position on the sales floor, Store Manager Chaney assigned me to work as a
Cashier, which was a less desirable position.
I believe that Mr. Chaney assigned me to a Cashier position in
retaliation for using the Open Door with the District Manager regarding
promotional opportunities. I know that
sales floor positions were available because I saw other newly hired employees
assigned to the sales floor. I also saw
Cashiers who were hired after me get transfers to the sales floor.
13. I left Wal-Mart again in April 2001 because Store Manager
Chaney refused to give me a position other than Cashier. Since about August 2002, I have been working
as a sales associate at Stage Department Store.
14. I love working in retail.
I would consider going back to work at Wal-Mart if I knew that I would
be considered fairly for promotion.
15. I have personal knowledge of each and every fact set forth in
the Declaration, and if called to testify as a witness in this matter, I could
and would competently testify to each of these facts.
I
declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States and State of
Missouri that the foregoing is true and correct.
This
Declaration was signed by me on ______________________ (month and day), 2003,
at _________________________________________ (city, state).
______________________________
Sheila Acree