|
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 |
|
SHEILA
Y. THOMAS (SBN 161403) DEBRA
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 |
|
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 |
DEBRA
GARDNER PUBLIC
JUSTICE CENTER 500
East Lexington Street Baltimore,
MD 21202 Telephone: (410) 625-9409 Facsimile: (410) 625-9423 |
|
SHAUNA
MARSHALL (SBN 90641) HASTINGS
COLLEGE OF THE LAW 200
McAllister Street San Francisco, CA 94102 Telephone: (415)
565-4685 Facsimile: (415) 626-2860 Attorneys for Plaintiffs |
|
UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
I,
Tammy Hall, 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. While employed by Wal-Mart, I have also
used the names Tammy Holloway and Tammy Hill.
Prior to my employment with Wal-Mart I worked briefly for a vocational
school. I graduated from a vocational
technical school in 1984 and received a degree in business education. I was 19 years old when I started working
full-time for Wal-Mart in 1986. In June
2001, I resigned from Wal-Mart because I no longer believed that I had the
management support to be given a fair opportunity to be promoted to a store
manager position.
3. I
began work at a Wal-Mart Store in Cullman, Alabama in 1986, setting up the
store and then as a cashier making $3.35 an hour. Almost immediately I expressed an interest in
advancing in my career at Wal-Mart. In
the “Career Goals” section of my six-month evaluation, I wrote that I wanted to
“learn more about service desk and layaway and maybe one day be a CSM.” Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a true and
correct copy of my Associate Evaluation Form dated June 14, 1986. In another evaluation, I wrote that I “would
like a chance to become a department manager.”
Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a true and correct copy of this undated
Associate Evaluation Form from the same Cullman, Alabama Wal-Mart (although it
is undated, I believe that it covered the 1986 to 1991 time period).
4. Between
1986 and 1991, I held several hourly positions at the Cullman, Alabama Wal-Mart
Store, including Courtesy Desk Associate, Customer Service Manager, Department
Manager of Foods, Department Manager of Health and Beauty Aids and Cosmetics,
and Personnel Manager.
5. In
my experience at Wal-Mart, I have heard several comments that I felt indicated
negative attitudes towards women in management.
While I was personnel manager at the Cullman, Alabama store in
approximately 1990 or 1991, I overheard Store Manager David Christian telling
another male assistant manager that all women should be “at home with a bun in
the oven” and “barefoot and pregnant.”
6. Whenever
I expressed an interest in advancing in my Wal-Mart career, I was always told
that in order to enter into the management training program, I would be
required to relocate. I was told that I
would have to be willing to go wherever Wal-Mart needed me. Accordingly, as early as 1988, I expressed a
willingness to relocate when I wrote that my career goals included “to travel
and set up different Wal-Mart stores.”
Attached hereto as Exhibit C is a true and correct copy of my Associate
Evaluation Form dated March 28, 1988.
Despite my comments, no one raised with me the possibility of moving
into a management position.
7. In
1989, I initiated discussions with Store Manager Gary Martin about moving up
into management. I spoke with him during
evaluations as well as privately in his office.
He told me I needed experience in the Cash Office and on the floor. By the time he told me this, I already had
extensive Cash Office and floor experience.
In my 1989 evaluation, I re-emphasized my interest by writing that my
career goals were “[t]o go as far in the company as I can.” Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and
correct copy of my Associate Evaluation Form dated September 26, 1989.
8. Three
years later, in 1992, I still had not been promoted. I spoke with District Manager Bob Sandlin
about my interest in management training.
He told me that willingness to relocate was a requirement for the
management training program. I agreed to
relocate. In my 1992 evaluation, I wrote
that my career goals included becoming an “Assistant Manager for
Wal-Mart.” Attached hereto as Exhibit E
is a true and correct copy of my Associate Evaluation Form dated March 24,
1992. I also continued to speak with
Store Manager Martin about my interest in becoming a management trainee. He remained noncommittal and did not give me
any specific information about ways in which I could improve my chances of
promotion.
9. In
October 1992, Mr. Sandlin told me I could enter the management training program
if I relocated to a Wal-Mart Store in Boaz, Alabama. I agreed to relocate to this store and accepted
a longer commute because I understood this was the only way I could advance
into management.
10. In
1993, after I completed the training program, Personnel Trainer Coleman Taylor
offered me an Assistant Manager position in a Wal-Mart Store in Birmingham,
Alabama. This was considered a difficult
store to manage because it was located in a high-crime area but I understood
that I had no choice but to accept the position to which I was assigned. If I did not, I understood that I would not
be offered a second chance. I relocated
to Birmingham.
11. As
early as 1993, I began expressing an interest in advancing into a store manager
position. In my 1993 annual evaluation,
I wrote that my career goals included “work[ing] toward becoming a store
manager.” Attached hereto as Exhibit F
is a true and correct copy of my Management Performance Appraisal and
Commitment to Success dated September 25, 1993.
12. In
approximately 1993, when I was an assistant manager in Birmingham, Alabama, I
was present during a conversation between Store Manager Dennis Hathaway and an
individual [name unknown] out of the Bentonville, Arkansas home office about an
Assistant Manager Larry [last name unknown] who had used the open door. I heard Mr. Hathaway laughing about this
assistant manager contacting home office and Mr. Hathaway said he would “get
[this assistant manager] reigned in.”
This incident made clear to me that the Open Door Policy was not an
option available to me, and, in fact, might make me the subject of ridicule and
retaliation.
13. In
1994, I re-emphasized my career aspirations by writing that I wanted “[t]o gain
all the knowledge and skills of running the store to help me to further my
career in Wal-Mart.” I also wrote about
my specific aspirations “to become a Store Manager. Maybe someday in the near future work in
Operations or the People division at home office.” In this evaluation, Store Manager Karen
Brandenburg wrote, “I would like to see her be one of our future store
managers.” Attached hereto as Exhibit G
is a true and correct copy of my Management Performance Appraisal and
Commitment to Success dated February 17, 1994.
14. In
1994, I voluntarily transferred to an assistant manager position in a Wal-Mart
in Anchorage, Alaska. Wal-Mart was
opening new stores in Alaska and I believed that being involved with this
challenge would assist in my efforts to get promoted to a store manager
position. This was a lateral move. By moving to Alaska, my husband and I left
behind everything that was familiar to us, including close family, friends, and
community.
15. While
in Alaska, I continued to express an interest in becoming a store manager, as
well as in participating in training that may have assisted me in gaining
skills to advance in my career. In my
1995 evaluation, I wrote that my “[o]nward goal is to be a store manager—would
like to be able to complete leadership classes—MDS classes.” Attached hereto as Exhibit H is a true and
correct copy of my Store Manager/Assistant Manager Performance Appraisal dated
March 1, 1995. In June 1995, two and a
half years after becoming an assistant manager, I was finally allowed to take a
leadership class in Bentonville, Arkansas that all assistant managers are
supposed to complete within six months of becoming an assistant manager. I had spoken to both Store Manager
Brandenburg and Store Manager Mark Divis about why I had not been able to take
the class but they were unable to explain the delay. While in Anchorage, I also spoke with Store
Manager Divis during my evaluations and informally about my interest in moving
up in management.
16. Some
time between 1995 and 1996, while I was working in the Anchorage, Alaska
Wal-Mart, male Assistant Manager Randy Hardy told me, and a room full of other
associates, that the only reason that Wal-Mart needed female assistant managers
was to ensure that women associates had someone with whom they could discuss
their periods. At first, I was taken
aback by these comments but I continued to believe that, with hard work, I
could prove that I could take on the challenges of a management position. I did not think that complaining about these
incidents would do any good because it had already been made clear to me that
the Open Door Policy was not something upon which I could rely.
17. In
1997, while working as an overnight assistant manager in the Anchorage store,
Store Manager Divis asked me to become operational assistant manager during the
day. This meant additional
responsibilities over the offices and training.
Even though I would be losing the 6% night differential and I would be
taking on extra responsibilities, I believed this would be good for my career
advancement, so I accepted.
18. While
in the Anchorage Wal-Mart, there were several men who were hired from the
outside as assistant managers who were paid significantly more than I was but
whom I had to train. They were John
Halpaus, who was recruited from a Safeway grocery store and whom I trained in
1994, and a male assistant manager [name unknown] who was recruited from a
Payless drug store and whom I trained in approximately 1998 or 1999.
19. In my
1997 evaluation, I wrote in the “Associate Comments” section that I wanted
“[t]o go to the next level in management.”
Attached hereto as Exhibit I is a true and correct copy of my Store
Manager/Assistant Manager Performance Appraisal dated March 28, 1997.
20. Shortly
thereafter, still in 1997, District Manager Mark Divis (he had been promoted
from Store Manager) asked me to transfer as an assistant manager to the
Wasilla, Alaska Wal-Mart Store. Although
I was not interested in the transfer or the longer commute, I agreed to this
lateral move because Mr. Divis told me it would be a good challenge and would
help my Wal-Mart career.
21. In
1998, Mr. Divis asked me to transfer back to an assistant manager in his
Anchorage, Alaska, Wal-Mart. Again, I
agreed. While there, I continued to
speak with District Manager Divis and later, Store Manager Coleman Taylor (he
had been promoted from Personnel Trainer) about my interest in moving up in my
Wal-Mart career. This same year, a
co-manager position was created in the Wasilla, Alaska Wal-Mart for Assistant
Manager James Barnes. He told me that he
had been transferred from a Hawaii Wal-Mart because he had “people
problems.” I was not aware of this
opening and was not given an opportunity to apply for it. Within a year, Mr. Barnes was transferred and
demoted for what I understood to be the same issues as had arisen in Hawaii.
22. Also,
in 1998, I wrote a letter to Stacy [last name unknown], the Regional Personnel
Manager over Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington, regarding my career history and
career goals with Wal-Mart. Once again,
I was very clear about my aspirations to become a store manager and reiterated
my willingness to move anywhere to do so.
I wrote, “My goal is to become a store manager for this company. I would prefer to remain in Alaska, but [am]
willing to relocate elsewhere. This is
my next challenge, a challenge [for] which I feel I am ready. To strive to run the store on the beliefs
that was founded and instilled in me by Sam Walton… I would like to be given
the opportunity to run a store like this for the company.” Attached hereto as Exhibit J is a true and
correct copy of this undated letter written and signed by me.
23. In July 1999, seven years after I had become an assistant manager, District Manager Harvey agreed to promote me to a co-manager position in the Anchorage, Alaska Wal-Mart. Mr. Harvey assured me that that this was only a training position and would last a maximum of 18 months before I would be promoted to store manager. I know of at least three men who were promoted faster than I was. Both Todd Childers and John Halpaus were assistant managers for less time before they were promoted to co-manager positions in an Anchorage Wal-Mart. James Lane was promoted to a store manager position in Ketchikan, Alaska after only a few years as an assistant manager. He was never a co-manager. Randy Hardy was promoted to a co-manager position after a similar amount of time in an assistant manager position but, throughout his time as an assistant manager in both Anchorage Wal-Marts, it was well known that he was violating the fraternization policy by dating an hourly associate whom he supervised. He was a good fishing and hunting buddy of District Manager Harvey and regularly talked about their hunting and fishing trips.
24. I became co-manager upon returning from maternity leave in 1999 after the birth of my son. As a co-manager, I regularly worked 65-70 hours a week. During inventory, it was not unusual for me to work fourteen 12-hour days in a row. While I was an assistant manager, I regularly worked 55-60 hours a week. I invested these long hours at the sacrifice of time spent with my husband and infant son, because I believed that my hard work and dedication would ensure a successful future with Wal-Mart and stability for my family.
25. During my February 2000 evaluation, I received a rating of “exceeds expectations.” Despite this excellent rating, I did not receive the usual annual pay increase. I had always been told that Wal-Mart policy forbids discussing salary issues so I was unable to determine the exact reason why I was not given a raise. I assumed that I had reached the maximum I could earn as a co-manager. The following year, I also did not receive a pay increase. In May 2001, I discovered that I, in fact, had not topped out and there was no reason why I had been denied a raise in both 2000 and 2001. I spoke with Regional Vice President Ron Medrano and he agreed to give me a raise retroactive for three months (to my February 2001 evaluation) but not to my February 2000 evaluation. When I asked why I had not received the proper pay increases, Mr. Medrano claimed he was not aware that I was supposed to receive a raise to begin with.
26. In
October 2000, I applied for the store manager position in Ketchikan,
Alaska. District Manager Harvey asked me
to write a detailed letter about the salary that I would need to live on the
island. Store Manager Taylor and I
worked on the letter together and I submitted it to Mr. Harvey. I never heard anything about the position
again except that a male, James Lane, got the position.
27. In
2001, I became acting store manager of the Anchorage, Alaska Wal-Mart because
Store Manager Coleman Taylor left. At
that time, I had been co-manager for two years.
Since I was already completing the responsibilities of the store
manager, I asked District Manager Harvey for the store manager title and
pay. He told me that it was against
company policy to be promoted from within the same store. When I informed him that previous store
manager, Coleman Taylor, had been co-manager in the same store, Mr. Harvey did
not respond.
28. Shortly
after I became acting store manager of the Anchorage Wal-Mart, the store
experienced a high shrinkage during inventory.
High shrink is when the cost of inventory is higher than the amount that
has been set by corporate headquarters for that store. Because I had only been acting store manager
for a couple of weeks, I was reassured by the auditors at home office in
Bentonville, Arkansas, that this high shrinkage was not my responsibility and
would be attributed to Store Manager Taylor.
29. In
February 2001, I was approached by District Manager Harvey about applying for
the position of district manager of shoes and jewelry in Alaska. At this time, I was frustrated by the lack of
management support toward my many efforts to advance in store management positions. I was beginning to believe that I would never
be allowed the chance to run a store.
When the opportunity arose for me to try a new position, any new
position, that would challenge me and help me to prove my capabilities, I
seized it. I was not going to receive a
raise for this new position and would be receiving the same base pay I had been
receiving as a co-manager. After my
interview with Regional Manager of Shoes and Jewelry Art Bock in March 2001, he
offered me the position and I signed a written contract committing to a two
years in the position. Attached hereto
as Exhibit K is a true and correct copy of this written contract signed by me
on April 3, 2001. As I was preparing for
the position, including opening a corporate bank account and receiving a
corporate credit card, I was called by Regional Vice President Ron
Madreno. He told me that, in order to
accommodate the new male Anchorage store manager, Jim Groh, they had offered
the district manager of shoes and jewelry position to his wife, Peggy. I told Mr. Madreno that this created a
conflict of interest and is against company policy. As District Manager of Shoes and Jewelry,
Mrs. Groh would have the ability to influence the inventory and bottom line
profits in the Wal-Mart Store that Mr. Groh managed. He ignored me. When I told Mr. Madreno of the contract I had
signed and the plans I had been making with home office, he told me that the
contract “ain’t worth two cents.” He
said that District Manager Harvey was supposed to have already informed me that
the position had been given to the incoming store manager’s wife. He then told me he was not giving me the
position due to high shrink in the Anchorage Wal-Mart Store. When I reminded him that I had been told that
this shrinkage was not my responsibility, he was again unresponsive. Even if I had been responsible for the
shrink, which I was not, it should not have interfered with my
promotability. I know that when Coleman
Taylor was promoted from a co-manager to store manager position in 1996, the
store had recently experienced a high shrink.
This did not interfere with Mr. Taylor’s promotion. Similarly, in 1997, David Shepherd was
promoted from co-manager in the Anchorage Wal-Mart to store manager of the
Wasilla, Alaska Wal-Mart shortly after the Anchorage store experienced high
shrink.
30. I
also spoke with District Manager Harvey about my concerns about the district
manager of shoes and jewelry position being taken from me. He claimed he was “shocked” and that I had
been treated unfairly. I found this
somewhat disingenuous, since Mr. Madreno told me Mr. Harvey already knew about
the decision and was, in fact, originally slated to tell me about it. I also explained to him that having a husband
and wife in these positions was contrary to company policy but he did not seem
concerned.
31. When I became a co-manager in 1999, District Manager Harvey had assured me that I would be in this training position for a maximum of 18 months but when I left, I had been co-manager for two and a half years with no end in sight. I know that David Shephard was co-manager of the Anchorage Wal-Mart for only about six months before he was promoted to store manager of the Wasilla Wal-Mart.
32. Throughout
my time as an assistant manager, co-manager, and acting store manager, from
1992 to 2001, I never received any coachings.
All but three of my evaluations were rated “Above Average” or “Exceeds
Expectations.” For those few evaluations
that were rated “Meets Expectations,” I had been told that, although my
performance may have exceeded expectations, my evaluation score had been rated
exclusively on store inventory, shrink, and stock numbers. During these evaluations, I complained to
District Manager David Carmon, District Manager Harvey, Store Manager Divis and
Store Manager Taylor that I believed these evaluations were unfair. I told them that a management performance
evaluation should rate the manager’s performance, not the store’s
numbers. At one point, District Manager
Carmon agreed to complete another evaluation of my performance in six months,
rather than a year, so that I could get an evaluation on my actual
performance. This never happened.
33. During my Exit Interview, I articulated that I was leaving due to a lack of promotional opportunities. Attached hereto as Exhibit L is a true and correct copy of my Exit Interview dated June 15, 2001.
34. Shortly
after I left Wal-Mart in June 2001, I wrote a letter to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott
chronicling the mistreatment that I had suffered and the problems that I
believe Wal-Mart has in retaining good management. Attached hereto as Exhibit M is a true and
correct copy of this letter. A few weeks
later, Divisional Vice Pres. Kendall Schwindt called me. Despite being in charge of determining who
would be placed in district manager positions, he claimed he had no idea that I
had been offered the district manager of shoes and jewelry position. He stated that he had had plans to
“eventually” promote me to a store manager position. There were no positions available at that
time or in the foreseeable future. I
asked him why, if I was qualified to run the Anchorage Wal-Mart as acting store
manager, was I not qualified to be the store manager and receive the fair
compensation and bonuses attached to the title.
Mr. Schwindt told me that it was not policy to promote a co-manager to
store manager of the same store. When I
reminded him that the previous Anchorage Wal-Mart store manager Coleman Taylor
had been promoted from co-manager of the same store, he said something vague
about “exceptions being made.” I could
hear that Mr. Schwindt had placed me on speakerphone and I was uncomfortable
about who else might be present so I ended the conversation shortly after
that. Mr. Schwindt never offered me a
store manager position nor even encouraged me to return to my co-manager
position.
35. I
started working with Wal-Mart when I was 19 years old and spent almost half my
life working there. With all the time I
had invested, it was the only career I thought I wanted and the only career I
thought I would ever have. When I left,
I felt like I had to begin my life over again.
I am currently employed full-time with Alaska USA Federal Credit Union
as an Operations Officer and I remain hopeful that I will be allowed the
opportunity to develop my career there.
I declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States and State of Alaska that the foregoing is true and correct.
This Declaration was signed
by me on ______________________, 2003, at Anchorage, Alaska.
_____________________________________
Tammy Hall