|
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 |
|
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)
581-8922 Facsimile: (415) 557-7895 |
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
I, Gretchen Adams, declare:
1. I am female and reside in Florida. I was a managerial employee at Wal-Mart
Supercenters from 1993 until December 2001.
My husband is totally and permanently disabled and has been disabled
throughout my employment with Wal-Mart.
My teen-aged son also lives with me and is an amateur golfer with
aspirations of turning professional soon.
2. During my years with Wal-Mart, I relocated my
family eight times at the request of the company. Despite my very strong performance as Deli
Manager, Assistant Manager, and Co-Manager, I never was promoted to Store
Manager. I was aware that men doing the
same job were paid more, and that I was even paid less than men I was
training. I experienced retaliation for
using the Open Door. Managers made
comments reflecting derogatory stereotyping of women. Although I observed men being mentored by
other men, I never was mentored and never met a female District Manager.
3. Prior to my employment with Wal-Mart, I was a
teacher and Director of Education for a
trade and technical school. I also had
spent several years in the restaurant and retail industries, and had managed a
restaurant. I had operated a
family-owned oilfield and I had lived abroad when my husband was in the
service.
4. I applied for an hourly position at the
Wal-Mart Supercenter in Stillwater, Oklahoma in April 1993. I was hired in a support position in the
Service Deli. The Service Deli prepares
and sells hot food and bakes items from scratch. Brett Donnelly, the male Manager of the Deli,
hired only women to work in that department and often made inappropriate,
sexually-charged comments to the Deli employees. After a month of this conduct, Mr. Donnelly
escalated his harassment and began calling one female employee at home. He also made physical moves towards her at
the workplace, which I, among several others, observed. Finally, as a result of that female employee
coming forward with her charge of sexual harassment, he took a two-week
vacation, was demoted to a Department Manager position, and transferred to another
store instead of being fired as required by Wal-Mart policy.
5. With the departure of Mr. Donnelly, I was
approached by Store Manager Larry Wilcoxsen and District Manager Ed Robertson
and offered the position of Deli Manager.
The position had not been posted, and I had not applied for it, although
I had indicated at my 90-day review that I was interested in a managerial
career at Wal-Mart. I did not accept the
promotion at first, as I did not think the salary was adequate. Mr. Wilcoxsen and Mr. Robertson assured me
that everyone started within the same salary range for this position. They told me that the salary range was
$23,500.00 to $26,500.00 and they offered to start me at what they claimed was
the maximum, $26,500.00. Based on that
representation, I accepted the position of Deli Manager. I later learned men were started at a higher
salary, as detailed below.
6. I spent the next five years as a Deli
Manager, moving my family four times as I traveled to help set up new
Supercenters. I managed the Deli in
Stillwater, Oklahoma for almost a year before being asked to go to Florida to
help open new Supercenters there.
Florida was considered to be a haven of new opportunity for advancement
as many new Supercenters were to open there.
I was assigned to set-up and open the Deli in Cape Coral, Florida. While waiting for the Cape Coral assignment,
I moved my family for approximately 3 months to Jasper, Alabama where I was
assigned to clean up a Deli Department that the local authorities were threatening
to close down. I then moved to Cape
Coral. After a few months in Cape Coral,
I was asked to move to Titusville, Florida to help set-up and open another new
Supercenter. Again, I moved my family
and residence.
7. I stayed in Titusville, Florida for two and a
half years as I wanted a promotion and thought it would be beneficial if a
District Manager had a chance to get to know me well, see what I was capable of
doing, and therefore support me in my promotional efforts. I was very successful in my efforts in the
Titusville Supercenter Deli. My Deli was
the number one in the district, number one in the region, and number three in
the entire company.
8. I asked for my well-earned promotion to
Assistant Manager from everyone that I thought could facilitate it. I repeatedly and frequently approached my
District Manager, Powell Wallace, and asked for a promotion. I spoke with Joe Tapper, Regional Food Vice
President from the Home Office in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Mark Schwartz,
Vice President of Supercenters from the Home Office. They told me it would be simple to get a
promotion; I only had to speak with my Store Manager and my District
Manager. I continued to speak several
times with District Manager Wallace about my wish for a promotion to Assistant
Manager, but he just continued to put me off.
I spoke with Cathy McWherter, Regional Personnel Manager, about my
career and she offered me a promotion to Assistant Manager in Dallas, Georgia. However, after she spoke with Mr. Wallace,
she retracted the offer without an explanation.
Finally, Store Manager Jim Roulette confided in me that District Manager
Wallace was not in favor of women being in upper management and that if I
wanted a promotion I should first transfer to another district. Now, instead of continuing to ask Mr. Wallace
for a promotion, I began to ask him for a transfer to another district. Mr. Wallace told me he would talk about the
promotion after my move to Kissimmee, Florida to open yet another Supercenter
in his District. He told me that only
the best employees were going to Kissimmee.
I felt I had already proven myself, no longer trusted Mr. Wallace, and
did not think this was fair to delay my promotion this way.
9. As my future aspirations were blocked by Mr.
Wallace, I decided to use the Open Door, as I had little to lose. My understanding of the Open Door Policy was
‘open door, shut the door, out the door’ and I felt I was taking a risk of
suffering retaliation by going above Mr. Powell in seeking a promotion. Nevertheless, my position was intolerable,
and so I contacted Steve Wycoff, in Training and Development, and asked for his
help. Mr. Wycoff suggested I contact
Larry Patrick, Director of Personnel for Supercenters, if Mr. Wallace continued
to refuse my request for a promotion or transfer. When I called Mr. Patrick, he was very
protective of Mr. Wallace, defending and attempting to justify Mr. Wallace’s
actions. Mr. Patrick promised to look
into the problem and get back to me. I
never heard from Mr. Patrick again.
10. I then began a lengthy process of finding an
open position in another district in which to transfer. I made countless telephone calls to Store
Managers and Regional Personnel Managers to discover what openings they
anticipated. Finally, in May 1997, I was
able to transfer to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I was still a Deli Manager.
11. I applied for a Meat/Deli Merchandiser
position in June 1997, as I decided to try another avenue of promotion. I was not interviewed for the position even
though I was told I would be by David Norman, Regional Vice President. Ken Sanford, a man I had trained as a Deli
Manager in Cape Coral, was given the position.
I pointed out to Ramona Truax, the Regional Personnel Manager, that a
man I had trained had received this promotion.
Her only response was to raise her eyebrows and say that she would see
what she could do. There was no further
follow-up.
12. New merchandiser positions were available in
late 1997. Again, I applied and followed
up with many telephone calls. David
Norman, Regional Vice President, told me that I was on the “recommended”
list. I expressed my strong desire for
the promotion, and my willingness to relocate anywhere. Again I was passed over. A man with only three months experience with
Wal-Mart was chosen for one of the openings.
When I tried to discover who the other successful applicants were, and
the gender of the new Merchandisers, I was told by Mary Smith, Regional
Personnel Director, that it was none of my business, and that it did not
matter, the damage was done. I requested
an explanation for the refusal to promote me.
Fred Bunch, District Manager and Mary Smith both told me they were
unable to give me a good reason. One of
the merchandisers, Ken Sanford, said that he knew that I should have received
one of the positions but it was based on "whom you knew, not what you
knew". No one told me what I
should do, if anything, to receive a promotion to Merchandiser.
13. From the fall of 1997 until July 1998, I was
sent to approximately ten different stores in several states to help with
various problems. Throughout this
period, Fred Bunch, District Manager, continued to promise to put me into the
Management Training Program so that I could be promoted to Assistant Manager.
14. Finally, in July 1998, I was promoted to
Assistant Manager. I did not join the
Management Training Program, but instead was promoted directly to Assistant
Manager. Regional Personnel Assistant
Heather [last name unknown] told me that I would not receive the training
because I earned too much. As Assistant
Manager trainees are paid hourly, and receive overtime pay, Heather said that
Mary Smith, Regional Personnel Manager, had told her to tell me that my hourly
pay would be too high, and that Wal-Mart did not want to pay it. Instead, I was handed a manual and told by
Debbie Plumadore, Store Manager, that I would learn on the job.
15. In November 1999, I was promoted to the
position of Co-Manager by Ron Cook, after two men, Christopher Pierce and Shawn
Stanley, turned down the position. I
again relocated my family. I was never
to receive another promotion.
16. As Co-Manager, I continued to relocate my
family at the request of Wal-Mart. I was
a Co-Manager in North Carolina, Nevada, and Florida, moving my family each
time.
17. After I was Co-Manager in North Carolina for
a few months, I learned that Supercenters were opening in Las Vegas,
Nevada. I had lived previously in Las
Vegas, and I knew that this was an area of expansion for Wal-Mart. I thought that a transfer to an area of
growth would be beneficial for my career and my goal of becoming a Store
Manager. I sought a transfer to Nevada. In April 2000, I became a Co-Manager at a
Supercenter in Las Vegas. Within a few
weeks of commencing my employment in Las Vegas, I learned that at least two
male Co-Managers started at a higher pay rate than I did, as detailed below.
18. On or about October 23, 2000, the District
Manager in Las Vegas, Chuck Salby, expressed his contempt for female managers
within the first few weeks of my tenure in Las Vegas. I was in a car with Mr. Salby, Store Manager
Jay Mossell, and Co-Manager Jim Eble, driving to a meeting in Utah. Mr. Salby responded to something I had said
by exclaiming "Gretchen, I just want to tell you how refreshing it is to
finally have a female with your intelligence and knowledge in my
district." None of the other male
managers responded to this statement.
19. On or about October 23, 2000, there was a
bomb threat at the Las Vegas Supercenter and the store was evacuated for
several hours. When we were allowed back
in, the store was in terrible shape, with full shopping carts abandoned
throughout the store and pallets of merchandise that should have been unloaded
left out. The following morning, the
Supercenter had another bomb threat and a drive-by shooting threat. Meanwhile, even more carts were left to be
re-stocked. The store was in a very
chaotic state. That morning, Don Harris,
Vice President of Operations from the Home Office in Bentonville, Arkansas, and
Kendall Schwindt, Divisional Director, arrived at the Supercenter for a store
tour. Mr. Harris was extremely angry at
the condition of the store. He got even
angrier when he learned that the Store Manager, Jay Mossell, and the District
Manager, Chuck Salby, were both on vacation at the same time and a crisis had
happened.
20. When this happened, I had been in the process
of completing my final interview plans for a position in Training and
Development. I had already been through
three interviews including the preparation of a videotape. I received a call from Teri Ross, Training
and Development, and was told that they could not consider me now that I was on
probation. She told me that the Regional
Manager, Jim Wilhem, had told her that all members of management in our store
were on probation for a year and that no one would be transferred or promoted.
I told her we knew nothing about it. I
asked Jay Mossell, Store Manager, and Chuck Salby, District Manager, if they
knew anything about it and they did not.
I felt that this was very unfair of upper management and decided to use
the Open Door policy. I sent a letter to
Jim Wilhem, Regional Director, Kendall Schwindt, Divisional Director, Lee
Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, Inc, Larry Ezell, Regional Personnel Manager and Andy
Wilson, Director of Supercenter Personnel.
A true and correct copy of this letter is attached hereto as Adams
Exhibit A. I told these executives that
respect for the individual, one of the basic beliefs at Wal-Mart, was not being
followed in the way the Las Vegas store was being handled.
21. On November 10, 2000, the day after I faxed
these letters to these executives, District Manager Chuck Salby came to talk
with me. He said he knew about my
letters and that the recipients were not happy.
He told me that if I decided to send another letter, I should show it to
him first. Mr. Salby said he would have
advised me not to send this letter and that it was not a very “smart”
move. I told Mr. Salby that we would
find out if the company really supports the Open Door policy, that I had just
told the truth in my letter, and that it was time for someone to stand up. Mr. Salby did not address the issues in my
letter or tell me when I could expect a response.
22. On November 13, 2000 Jim Wilhem, Regional Director, came into the store. He was very angry but did not address the issues in my letter. Mr. Salby told me that Lee Scott, Wal-Mart CEO, would be in to see all of the members of management.
23. On November 24, 2000, Mr. Scott did come to
the store. He did not address the
particular issues of my letter but told me I was doing a good job. Mr. Scott returned on November 27, 2000 and
addressed the management team. Mr. Scott
said that either Mr. Schwindt or Mr. Wilhem would be back in the store within
two weeks to address the issue of my ability to apply for a promotion.
24. Before there was any follow-up to my Open
Door letter, District Manager Salby called me into his office on December 13,
2000. He was very abusive in his
language, and called me a "worthless broad." He gave me a choice of termination or
immediate transfer from his district.
Mr. Salby told me that I was not going to get the position I was
applying for in Training and Development, and that I needed to decide that
minute where I wanted to transfer to. I
asked if I could speak with my husband about such an important decision and he
told me he wanted my answer right then.
I asked if it was my letter to the executives that had caused this, and
he refused to answer. He gave me no
explanation as to why he was acting this way, or what, if anything, I had done
to deserve such treatment. Mr. Salby
told me that Mr. Schwindt and Mr. Wilhem were aware of what he was doing to
me. I told Mr. Salby that I would return
to Florida, and he collected my keys and my walkie-talkie. He sent me home to wait.
25. I became Co-Manager in Greenacres, Florida,
moving my family again. Mr. Salby’s
efforts to retaliate for my use of the Open Door continued, even though I had
moved out of his district. He sent to my
new District Manager a poor evaluation of me and a written coaching which he
had told me had been torn up.
26. I renewed my efforts to be promoted to a
position in Training and Development. I
contacted Teri Ross, Director of Training and Development, and she told me that
it would just be a matter of formality, but someone would call for a final
interview. However, I was required to
interview two more times. I was told by
Irvin Young that I had done very well.
In September 2001, the prerequisites for this position changed without
notice. I was told by Irvin Young that I
was suddenly ineligible for the position because experience as Store Manager
was now required and, as a Store Manager, one had to be on the
"promotable" list. I had never
been offered a Store Manager position.
27. I quit in December 2001.
28. In at least three of the stores where I
worked, I learned that men were paid more than I was even though I had equal or
more responsibility. In Jasper, Alabama
in June and July 1994, I trained James O’Neil how to run a Deli. He was new to the company, and had no deli or
retail experience. He had only worked in
fast food. One week, he was sent out of
town to help in a grand opening of another store, and he asked me to deposit
his paycheck. When I took Mr. O’Neil’s
deposit slip to the bank in Jasper on July 15, 1994, I saw that he was being
paid $30,000.00, approximately $3,500.00 more than I was receiving, even though
I was an experienced Deli Manager and I was training him. I was concerned and spoke with the Regional
Personnel Manager, Brian Hardin, the next week.
Mr. Hardin explained that this was just a “fluke,” and that there was
nothing he could do about it. I accepted
this at the time.
29. This practice of paying a male trainee more
than me was repeated at the next store.
When I moved to Cape Coral, Florida in 1994, I trained Ken Sanford as a
Deli Manager. Again, Mr. Sanford was new
to Wal-Mart and his experience was limited to bakery work. Mr. Sanford told me that he was earning
$30,000.00 per year. I was being paid
only $28,089, having received a yearly review with an above-standard rating. Mr. Sanford received the promotion to
Merchandiser that I sought, as detailed above.
30. That this was a pattern of gender
discrimination and not a series of flukes became very clear when I learned for
a third time that men were being paid more than I was receiving. When I was a Co-Manager in Las Vegas, Nevada,
in 2000, I learned that male Co-Managers Scott Jolley and Jim Eble were paid
approximately $47,000. I was paid only
$43,500.00. I had been told by District
Manager Ron Cook and Regional Personnel Manager Mary Smith that all new
Co-Managers were paid the same base pay.
Upon learning that these two male Co-Managers, with no more experience
than me, were being paid more, I spoke with Regional Personnel Manager Larry
Ezell and with District Manager Chuck Salby.
I asked Mr. Ezell why I had been told that all Co-Managers began at the
same salary if this were not true. I
received no meaningful response. Mr.
Ezell and Mr. Salby agreed to give me an immediate raise to $47,000. The raise was not made retroactive to
compensate me for the period when I was underpaid. I was given no explanation as to why two men,
doing the same job I did, were paid more.
I was given no assurance that there would be any review conducted to
ensure other women were not being similarly underpaid. My request to look into past discrepancies
was ignored.
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31. I learned about this litigation when, as a
Co-Manager, I received “talking points” from the Home Office in Bentonville,
Arkansas that were to be used when Managers discussed the class action with
employees. When this case was filed, I
realized that my experience of gender discrimination was not unique, and that
other female employees were taking action.
I quit Wal-Mart six months after this case was filed, and became an
organizer for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. I was never involved in a union activity
before, but felt something had to be done.
32. I have personal knowledge of all of the
foregoing and, if asked, could and would testify competently to all of these
facts.
I
declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States and the State
of Florida that the foregoing is true and correct.
This
declaration was signed by me on April _____, 2003 at ___________________ (City
and State).
___________________________
Gretchen
Adams