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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)
581-8922 Facsimile: (415) 557-7895 |
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
I, Darlene Crowder, declare:
1. I am a woman and a former Wal-Mart employee.
2. I began working at Wal-Mart in July
1991. Prior to working at Wal-Mart, I
had managed a Rite-Aid drug store for approximately two years. I also worked at the Ramada Inn for one year
where I had managerial responsibilities.
3. Even though I had previously worked as a
manager of a retail store, Wal-Mart hired me to work as an hourly employee at a
Wal-Mart store in London, Kentucky. From
approximately 1991 until 1999, I held various hourly positions, including sales
associate, cashier, department manager and support manager. It took me eight years to get promoted to a
salaried management position at
Wal-Mart.
4. I repeatedly told Wal-Mart managers that I
was interested in becoming a manager. At
my hiring interview in 1991, I stated that I wanted to work in management. Early on in my career with Wal-Mart, I asked
Assistant Manager Johnnie Flatt if he thought that I had the potential to be a
manager. Mr. Flatt agreed that I did.
5. While I was an hourly employee, I always
worked very hard and performed my job well.
I was never disciplined. On my
performance evaluations, I was consistently rated “above standard,” “exceeds
requirements,” or “outstanding.” I took
on additional responsibilities, including writing the store’s newsletter and
serving on the safety team. In 1995, I
was asked to assume the duties of an Assistant Manager assigned to the
overnight shift for about three or four months when an Assistant Manager was on
maternity leave. I was given a fifty
cent per hour raise for assuming the Assistant Manager duties, bringing my wage
to $7.50 per hour, but I was not paid a salary as other Assistant Managers
were. I believed that my hard work and
commitment to Wal-Mart’s success would enable me to advance.
6. In approximately June 1995, I received an
annual evaluation. At that time, I was
working as a support manager, an hourly position. Assistant Manager Larry Holland wrote on the
evaluation that I had worked hard to prepare myself for promotion and that I
had the ability to go as far in Wal-Mart as I wanted. A true and correct copy of this evaluation is
attached hereto as Crowder Exhibit A.
The next steps would be the management training program and then an
Assistant Manager position.
7. In early 1997, the support manager position
was eliminated from the London store where I worked. Instead of promoting me into the management
training program at that time, Wal-Mart demoted me to a department manager position. I was not told by my managers why I was not
being promoted.
8. In late 1997, Store Manager Larry Ryan asked
me whether I wanted to be promoted into management. I answered that I was very interested, but
that I could not relocate my home because my mother, who lives in area, had
been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I
was not promoted to the management training program until two years later, in
1999.
9. I am aware of three male employees – Allen
Otis, Steve Keeton, and Jimmy Lewis -- who completed the management training
program and were assigned to stores which were located in places where I was
able to work. In approximately 1992,
Allen Otis completed the management training program in the London Wal-Mart
store and became an Assistant Manager in the same store. In approximately 1994, Steve Keeton completed
the management training program and was assigned to a Wal-Mart store in
Williamsburg, Kentucky as an Assistant Manager.
In approximately 1998, the personnel manager at the London store, Jimmy
Lewis, was promoted into the management training program, and subsequently
continued to work in the London store as an Assistant Manager on the overnight
shift. That was the position that I had
held temporarily in 1995 while an Assistant Manager was on maternity leave.
10. I never saw a posting or application for any
of the positions described in the preceding paragraph. I did not know the positions existed until I
heard that they were filled by the male employees whom I identified in the
preceding paragraph. There may have been
other openings for Assistant Managers within commuting distance of my home of
which I was not aware. If I had been
permitted to apply for those positions, I would have done so. I did not know what I could do to get
promoted other than wait for an invitation.
11.
From August 1999 until December 2001, I
worked as an Assistant Manager for Wal-Mart.
I was assigned to stores in Berea, Manchester, and Corbin, Kentucky. I also worked out of the District Manager’s
office where I trouble-shot on difficult stores. As an Assistant Manager, I was never
disciplined and was always rated “exceeds expectations” on my annual
evaluations.
12. Upon becoming an Assistant Manager, I began
aspiring to become a Store Manager. In
February 2000, I received my first annual evaluation as an Assistant
Manager. I was rated “exceeds
expectations.” I wrote on that
evaluation that I wanted to become a Store Manager. A true and correct copy of that evaluation is
attached hereto as Crowder Exhibit B. On
at least one occasion after receiving that evaluation, I was told by a Wal-Mart
manager that I had to be willing to relocate my home in order to be promoted to
a Store Manager position. Because I
understood Wal-Mart’s relocation policy to prohibit my promotion, I became
discouraged about becoming a Store Manager, even though there were about seven
Wal-Mart stores within commuting distance of my home.
13. In approximately June 2000, I was assigned to the Manchester, Kentucky Wal-Mart store. When the Store Manager, Marvin Bauman, took a leave of absence for approximately two weeks, I filled in as Acting Store Manager. I did not receive any additional compensation for assuming this responsibility. While I was Acting Store Manager, Regional Vice President Bill Dilaha visited the store. I later learned from District Manager Steve Falcon that Mr. Dilaha was extremely impressed with the store’s condition.
14. While I was an Assistant Manager, I was
designated a “Rising Star.” I was never
told how this designation would benefit me or how it would enable me to advance
my career with Wal-Mart. When I worked
in the district office, I saw a list of the Rising Star Assistant Managers in
our district. Clark Susong and John
Burton, both males, were on that list.
Mr. Susong and Mr. Burton attended Wal-Mart’s annual meetings in
Texas. I was not invited to attend these
meetings.
15. In approximately November 2001, District
Manager Matt Belcher asked me to transfer laterally from the Wal-Mart store in
Manchester to the Wal-Mart store in Corbin.
I had reservations because the Corbin Store Manager, Brian Kitchen, had
a reputation for disliking women. I
agreed to transfer, despite my reservations, because I wanted to be a team
player.
16. Wal-Mart stores receive what is known as a
“UPI” rating. The UPI rating measures
employee morale. A low UPI indicates
high employee morale and, conversely, a high UPI indicates poor employee
morale. At the time that I was
transferred, the Manchester store had a UPI of approximately 8, while the
Corbin store had a UPI of approximately 23, which is considered very high.
17. The Corbin store had a Store Manager, two
Co-Managers, and approximately five Assistant Managers. With the exception of me, all of these
managers were male. I replaced a female
manager named Tiffany Gray. I suspected
that I was transferred to the Corbin store to serve as a token female manager.
18. I was treated differently than the male
Assistant Managers in the Corbin store.
I frequently was required to oversee the front-end, in addition to my
other areas of responsibility. I often
had to respond to most of the customer calls.
I often noticed the male Assistant Managers sitting around the office
not working, when I was very busy. I did
not feel that the male managers treated me as their equal.
19. Because of the discriminatory conditions that
I experienced in the Corbin Wal-Mart store, on December 23, 2001, I resigned
from Wal-Mart. After I resigned, I spoke
with District Manager Matt Belcher. Mr.
Belcher offered to demote me to an hourly position. He did not offer to place me in another
Wal-Mart store as a salaried manager.
20. I am currently an Assistant Manager at Big
Lots, another retail store. I would be
interested in returning to work for Wal-Mart if I were guaranteed that I would
be treated fairly, without discrimination, and with equal opportunities to
advance.
21. 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
Kentucky that the foregoing is true and correct.
This
Declaration was signed by me on ______________________ (month and day), 2003,
at _______________________ (city and state).
_____________________________