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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, Diane Durfey, declare:
1. I was an Assistant Manager at a Wal-Mart
Store in Utah. I quit in August 2000
because it became apparent I would not be promoted. I reached this conclusion because I
experienced a belittling working environment directed at women and I lost
respect for the management of Wal-Mart.
2. I was graduated from Brigham Young University
in December 1998 with a degree in Business Administration. Before finishing my degree, I had obtained an
Associates of Arts degree from a community college and had worked full-time as
an office manager for a podiatrist and in the office and production department
of a publishing company. I had also
spent 18 months in Ecuador. Soon after
receiving my Bachelors of Art degree, I saw at the career services center at
Brigham Young University that Wal-Mart wished to interview recent graduates for
managerial positions. I had observed the
growth of Wal-Mart in Utah, and was aware that the company was expanding
overseas. I believed that a company of
that size would present tremendous opportunities for me. I was at the beginning of my professional
career and had no reason, at that point, to doubt that I could have a long and
successful career with Wal-Mart. I
signed up for an interview.
3. I interviewed with Oneil Clark, a Regional
Personnel Manager, for the position of management trainee. In this March 1999 interview, Mr. Clark asked
me if I was relocatable. I responded by
telling him I had no geographical limitations at all and, in fact, would be
interested in working in the International Division. Mr. Clark made a note of my response to this
question concerning my ability to relocate.
(Attached hereto as Durfey Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of the
Interview notes produced by Defendant at my deposition.)
4. I received a confirming letter, which set
forth the terms of my employment as a Manager Trainee. (Attached hereto as Durfey Exhibit B is a
true and correct copy of this letter.)
Upon receipt, I telephoned to negotiate the starting salary of
$27,500.00 but was unsuccessful at negotiating a higher rate. I was told that the salary was set by Home
Office in Bentonville, Arkansas. I
accepted the job and was sent to Shelton, Washington for training. I spent approximately 17 weeks in Washington
in the Management Training Program.
5. Upon completing my training in August 1999, I
was assigned as an Assistant Manager at the Wal-Mart Store in American Fork,
Utah and remained there until I quit.
The practices and procedures I learned in Washington were applicable in
Utah and I needed no additional training to work in Utah. The handbook used in the Shelton, Washington
store was the same as the handbook used in Utah. The reports that the stores made to Home Office
were of the same type. The guidelines,
reports, and policies sent by Home Office to the stores were the same. The videos shown to new employees, the
Computer Based Learning (“CBL”) modules, and the orientation procedure were the
same in Utah as I had experienced in Washington, as they were all created in
Bentonville, Arkansas. The set-up of the
store, the reporting chain of command, the personnel policies, the
merchandising practices, and the day-to-day operations were all similar in
Washington and Utah. Both of the stores
used the same computer systems, and I was able to access the same reports,
guidelines, and policies on the computer in Utah that I had in Washington.
6. After I was in the Utah store for
approximately six or seven weeks, a male Assistant Manager, Matt Garrett, was
assigned to the same store. He had commenced
his training six or seven weeks after I had begun my training, and this was his
first assignment as Assistant Manager.
Although I had the six or seven weeks of additional experience, Matt
Garrett was paid more than I was. I
learned this when another Assistant Manager, Holly Gibby, saw written
confirmation of our salaries and told me.
7. It became apparent that Matt Garrett was
being groomed for rapid promotion and I was not. He was rotated into the Night Receiving
Assistant Manager, which was widely seen as a stepping-stone to imminent
promotion. I complained to Store Manager
Mark Weatherhogg, as did Holly Gibby and other Assistant Managers. I was then assigned to help Mr. Garrett in
the receiving department, as there was a lot of extra work to do, including a
new back room set up and an upcoming inventory audit. When Mr. Garrett rotated out of that
position, I was able to run the position entirely on my own but was not allowed
this opportunity. Another male Assistant
Manager, Jeff, was put in to help me although there was no longer a lot of
extra work. Unlike Mr. Garrett, I was
not given the opportunity to shine in that position and show what I could
do.
8. I observed gender stereotyping in assignments
throughout the store. Women were not
placed in some departments, including sporting goods, garden, and
hardware. Women were not assigned as
cart pushers. Women were assigned to the
office, and to fabrics and cashiering.
This gender segregation was widely acknowledged throughout the store,
and was the subject of several conversations among the female office personnel.
9. Store Manager Mark Weatherhogg toured the
store daily with one or more Assistant
Managers. Upon one occasion, in
approximately July 2000, as I and Assistant Manager Marjorie Fonnesbeck toured
with him, he started yelling at us. When
we arrived in the Infants Department, Mr. Weatherhogg got even angrier, and
screamed at the female hourly Infants Department Manager, Julie Weber. He pulled approximately six pieces of furniture
down from the shelves, throwing them onto the floor. Ms. Weber walked out of the store. Several associates witnessed this and
appeared very upset. More than one
associate called the District Manager, Jim Curtis, who sent Mr. Weatherhogg
home for the day. District Manager
Curtis also directed Ms. Fonnesbeck and me to conduct an investigation of the
incident. Assigning this task of
investigation put Ms. Fonnesbeck and me in very difficult positions, as we were
being asked to review and report on the actions of our direct supervisor. I felt this assignment was an attempt to
intimidate us and send us a message that we were not to report on the bad
actions of our Store Manager. When I
approached Mr. Weatherhogg to tell him that employees were walking out and were
very upset, he placed the blame on the Assistant Managers for provoking
him. I never observed or learned of any
time when Mr. Weatherhogg yelled at male Assistant Managers or male Department
Managers.
10. Upon many occasions, I went to Store Manager Weatherhogg to discuss a number of concerns, including my career. In many of these discussions, Mr. Weatherhogg told me that “retail is tough” and that it might not be “appropriate” for women. Mr. Weatherhogg said this to me on more than one occasion. I discussed this with female Assistant Managers Marjorie Fonnesbeck and Holly Gibby who told me that Mr. Weatherhogg said the same thing to them. This attitude of Store Manager Weatherhogg was so well known, and the favoritism he displayed to male associates was so apparent that it became almost a joke for my fellow Assistant Managers to refer to Wal-Mart as a “good ‘ole boys’ club.” I recall specifically Store Manager Mark Weatherhogg making this comment at lunch on more than one occasion.
11. I became very concerned about my career
opportunities, having seen a less experienced man, Assistant Manager Matt
Garrett, receive a greater salary and more managerial grooming, observing the
biased behavior of my supervisor, and having my Store Manager express doubts
that I, as a woman, should even be in this field of employment. I tried to use the Open Door, contacting
District Manager Jim Curtis, but received no response. Wal-Mart’s Sundown Rule
requires that all phone messages be returned the same day received, so the lack
of response was significant to me. I
understood that the district manager was so uninterested in talking to me that
he was willing to violate this basic rule of Wal-Mart policy and culture. I wrote a note to the President, Lee Scott,
and again received no response. I called
the legal department and yet again received no response. I telephoned and e-mailed the Store Manager I
had trained with in Washington, Greg Sullivan, but received only a pep talk.
12. I believed that I could not get promoted, in
light of the attitudes I had observed. I
found that no help was available for me through the Open Door. The working conditions were belittling and I had
no respect for the management. I quit on
August 31, 2000. I conducted my own exit
interview, finding myself to be rehirable.
No member of Wal-Mart management made any effort to persuade me to stay.
13. I had intended to make my career at
Wal-Mart. Given a fair opportunity, I
anticipated becoming a Store Manager and perhaps joining the International
Division. Instead, I experienced
discrimination and hostility towards me because I am a woman. But for the discrimination, the behavior of
my managers, and the lack of response from upper management to my concerns, I
believe I would have stayed at Wal-Mart.
I
have personal knowledge of each and every fact set forth in this Declaration
and, if called to testify as a witness, 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 of the
State of Utah that the foregoing is true and correct.
This
declaration was signed by me on _______________, 2003 at Orem, Utah.
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