|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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, Donna Reed, 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 former Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. employee. I worked for the Sam’s Club in Chesapeake, Virginia from April 1994 until February 1998.
3. Prior to working for Sam’s Club in 1994, I took several college level courses in business management. Between 1985 and 1993, I had six years of management experience at McDonald’s and Wing King.
4. While at Sam’s Club, I worked as a Team Lead from 1994 to1997 and as a Receiving Area Manager from 1997 to1998.
5. My performance evaluations were consistently above average. I worked well with my peers and maintained good relationships with my managers.
6. During my four years at Sam’s Club, I often expressed my interest in pursuing management positions. My General Manager, Mike Manahan, always rebuffed me. He stated there were no openings for management positions and that I was not ready to move into a management position, despite my previous management experience.
7. In 1996, a male Team Lead, Chris Logan, received management training after my request for training had been denied. We were equally qualified.
8. In May 1997, Assistant Manager Regina White informed me of an opening for Receiving Area Manager. The position was not officially posted in the store and Ms. White told me that several other male employees had been offered the position but had turned it down. I applied for the position because I believed it would facilitate future promotions within the Company. However, after a year in the position, I did not receive a promotion to management.
9. In August 1997, I learned that Mr. Manahan was fraternizing with another Sam’s Club employee. Their relationship was affecting the workplace in a negative way and I used the Open Door to report the affair to my Regional Manager, Ron Borga. Shortly after this conversation took place, Mr. Manahan began to treat me more harshly than he had before. I felt that Mr. Borga breached my confidentiality and informed Mr. Manahan of my concerns.
10. While working an overnight shift in December 1997, Assistant Manager Jim Burton distributed Christmas gifts to each of the approximately thirteen night crew members with whom he worked. The next morning, Mr. Burton instructed me to ring up the roughly $100 worth of merchandise he had distributed to employees the night before. Mr. Burton was not reprimanded for his actions.
11. Later that month, while working an early morning shift, I became ill and required medication. All the registers were closed at the time my pain began, so I saved the product label and, because I left my employee badge at home, paid for the item the next morning under a co-worker’s name. Two months later, Mr. Manahan informed me they were investigating the incident and asked for my badge and keys. Despite my proof of purchase and the electronic computer records maintained in the store, I was fired and escorted out of the store on February 4, 1998. I feel that my termination was retaliation for my use of the Open Door six months earlier.
12. I filed a complaint with the EEOC alleging gender discrimination and received a Right to Sue letter in February 1998.
I declare under penalty of
perjury of the laws of the United States and the State of Illinois that the
foregoing is true and correct.
This Declaration was signed by me on
______________________, 2003, in Chicago, Illinois.