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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 CHARLES
TOMPKINS JULIE
GOLDSMITH 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, Catherine Gorba, declare:
1. I make this statement on the basis of my personal knowledge, and, if called as a witness, could and would testify competently to the facts herein.
2. I am female and a college graduate. I had eight years of retail management experience prior to working for Wal-Mart Stores. From 1990 to1998, I was a cashier for Sheetz and a Store Manager for Sunoco and Barber Oil Co., where I was responsible for personnel, profitability, ordering, and finances.
3. On May 26, 1998, I entered Wal-Mart’s Manager Training Program at the Indiana, Pennsylvania store. I remained in Indiana until October 1998, when I finished the Manager Training Program and received a promotion to Assistant Manager of the Ebensburg, Pennsylvania Wal-Mart. I remained in the Ebensburg store until I resigned from Wal-Mart Stores on September 8, 2000.
4. I participated in the Manager Training Program with three other associates, two of whom were female, the other male. The two female management trainees and I had, on occasion, discussed our salaries. We affirmed that we were all earning the same amount. However, Lynn [last name unknown], one of the female trainees, showed both the other female trainee and myself the salary of the male manager trainee, Steve Dumm, on Wal-Mart’s payroll computer system. I was shocked to learn that Mr. Dumm was earning considerably more than the two other female associates and myself. My pay rate as an assistant manager was $29,500, compared to the $32,000 Mr. Dumm was earning. Lynn, who like myself was earning $29,500, shared a similar background with Mr. Dumm. They both had worked at the same grocery store prior to entering Wal-Mart’s Manager Training Program.
5. While participating in the Manager Training Program at the Indiana store, I was present at a manager meeting when my District Manager, David Rulli, stated that he was getting grief for not meeting his quota for female managers. His comment was consistent with his attitude toward me later in my employment. It was as if I had been hired as a token female rather than a college graduate with eight years of retail experience.
6. After I began working at the Ebensburg store in 1998, two male Assistant Manager Trainees, Bill Cogan and Larry McDermott, bragged to me their starting salaries were high. Mr. McDermott’s pay rate was $35,000, which was considerably higher than my salary.
7. In mid-1999, I was present when Vicki Stahal, Department Manager of Lawn and Garden, told acting Store Manager of the Ebensburg store, Jim Linsenbigler, about her interest in entering the Manager Training Program. I heard Mr. Linsenbigler tell her that she was not ready for training and that they should discuss it again at a later date. Mr. Linsenbigler confided in me a few weeks later that Ms. Stahal, who was several months pregnant at the time, would have too many responsibilities at home and he was skeptical that she could handle the rigors of a management position. In contrast, during that same time, I heard Mr. Linsenbigler publicly encourage a male hourly Associate, Duane [last name unknown], to pursue management opportunities. Mr. Linsenbigler often would discuss at manager meetings those he wished to see advance in the company. Dan [last name unknown], Department Manager of Electronics, as well as Jay [last name unknown], former Department Manager of Sporting Goods and current Assistant Manager, were also enthusiastically discussed by Mr. Linsenbigler at manager meetings. Throughout my tenure at Wal-Mart, I never saw Mr. Linsenbigler approach any equally qualified and interested female employees regarding promotion opportunities.
8. In March 1999, my Store Manager, Sandy Hill, changed my schedule so that I worked from 5:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. three days a week and from 3:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. two days a week. Ms. Hill and I agreed that because my daughter is diabetic and I needed to be with her overnight, it was acceptable for me to work through my lunch break so that I could leave my shift an hour early on the days I was to work until 3:00 a.m.. I accepted this change in my schedule, despite the fact that I did not know why I was placed on a shift that was unique for an Assistant Manager. However, after working this shift for a few months, I grew concerned that I was not learning enough about the different areas of the store, which was slowing my promotability at Wal-Mart.
9. In July 1999, Mr. Linsenbigler took me aside and told me that I had no business working for Wal-Mart because I had a sick child at home. He questioned my ability to give 100 percent to Wal-Mart because my family needed me. He then stated, “Wal-Mart does not deserve to have someone like you working for them. Wal-Mart needs someone who can dedicate all her time and energy to the store.” I was shocked and offended at his comment because I never had missed a day of work due to my daughter’s condition.
10. Also in July 1999, I asked Mr. Linsenbigler for a day off from work so I could accompany my husband to the doctor. Despite my explanation of my husband’s condition, Mr. Linsenbigler denied my request for the day off. When male Assistant Manager, Steve Dumm, asked Mr. Linsenbigler for extended time off to care for his wife during her pregnancy, Mr. Linsenbigler approved Mr. Dumm’s time away from work. Furthermore, Mr. Linsenbigler, himself, had taken several days off from work to care for his ill mother.
11. As a result of these three concerns, I decided to use the Open Door. I approached my District Manager, Mr. Rulli, in July 1999. I told him my concerns regarding my schedule, the comment made by Mr. Linsenbigler about my need to care for my family, and my denial of a day off to accompany my husband to the doctor. He responded that we could talk in greater detail later that day. When I returned at the requested time, I was surprised to see Mr. Linsenbigler at the meeting as well as Mr. Rulli’s assistant, Barb [last name unknown], since I thought that my use of the Open Door meant our conversation would be kept confidential. Mr. Rulli told me at the meeting that I was to be pulled off the hybrid daytime and overnight shift that I had been working. He said that I would be informed later as to whether I would be required to work an overnight or daytime shift. Mr. Rulli did, however, agree that Mr. Linsenbigler should have granted my day off to accompany my husband to the doctor.
12. After several days had passed, Mr. Linsenbigler told me that I had to work an overnight shift from 10:00 p.m. until 7:30 or 8:00 a.m.. Because of my daughter’s condition, I could not work such a schedule. Furthermore, because of the retaliation I experienced for using the Open Door, I thought it futile to attempt to negotiate a new schedule. I instead took a voluntary demotion to Department Manager of Lingerie the following week to ensure that I only would be scheduled for daytime shifts. Despite my desire to continue to pursue management opportunities, I remained Department Manager until I left Wal-Mart Stores the following year.
I declare under penalty of perjury
of the laws of the United States and the State of Pennsylvania that the
foregoing is true and correct.
I signed
this on ___________________________, 2003, in Elmora, Pennsylvania.
___________________________________