|
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 |
|
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, Jody Shearer, declare:
1. I am
female and a former employee of Wal-Mart.
I reside in Ohio.
2. I was
hired at a Wal-Mart store in Wooster, Ohio on February 2, 2000. I had about two years of previous retail
experience working for K-Mart and for JoAnn Fabrics.
3. I was assigned
to a position as a Sales Associate in the Lawn and Garden Department. Shortly after I started working, I found out
that two male Sales Associates in the Garden Center, who had both been hired
after I was, were making a higher hourly wage than I was. I was hired at $6.50 per hour. Gregory Via was hired as a Sales Associate in
about May 2000 at $6.75 per hour. Arthur
Berry was hired as a Sales Associate in approximately June 2000 at $6.75 per
hour. I know their wages because both
Mr. Via and Mr. Berry told me what they earned.
4. I used
the Open Door to complain about the differences in our wages to Assistant
Manager Jerod Strong. Mr. Strong told me
I must be mistaken and he also told me not to worry about the difference. I asked him for a pay raise at that time,
which he denied. After Mr. Strong told
me I must be mistaken about the pay difference, I asked Mr. Via and Mr. Berry
again what they earned. They both
confirmed that they earned $6.75 per hour.
I know of no legitimate explanation for the difference in our wages.
5. At my
90-day evaluation in May 2000, I received a 35-cent raise to $6.85 per
hour. However, if my starting pay rate
had been the same as Mr. Via's and Mr. Berry's, my 90-day raise would have been
to $7.10 per hour.
6. At the
same Open Door meeting with Mr. Strong, I told Mr. Strong that I wanted to be
considered for the Management Training Program.
I knew about the program from a meeting in the store and from reading a
poster that listed the requirements, which included a high school degree. When I asked Mr. Strong about the Management
Training Program, he replied, “Management’s not for you.” He did not explain what he meant by that
statement. I knew that approval of a
manager was required to enter the Management Training Program. Mr. Strong's statement led me to believe I
did not have his support and discouraged me from taking additional steps to get
experience that would qualify me for a management position.
7. Of the
four Management Trainees who trained at the Wooster store while I worked there,
only one was female.
8. I was
never disciplined while I worked at Wal-Mart.
I received two performance evaluations.
On my 90-day review, I received an “exceeds expectations” rating. (True and correct copy attached hereto as
Shearer Exhibit A.) On my annual
evaluation, I received a “meets expectations” rating, and I wrote in the
comments section, “I am interested in becoming a department manager.” (True and
correct copy attached hereto as Shearer Exhibit B.)
9. Even
though I expressed interest in management positions both to Assistant Manager
Strong and during my annual review, I was never given the opportunity to apply
for the Management Training Program. I
was never told what qualifications were necessary for the Management Training
Program or what the application process was.
I never saw applications for the Management Training Program. If I had seen applications, I would have
applied.
10. I left
Wal-Mart in December 2000 to accept a position as a management trainee at
McDonald’s. In my exit interview with
Wal-Mart, I specified that I was leaving due to my dissatisfaction with pay and
to accept a management position with another company. No one in Wal-Mart management made any effort
to dissuade me from quitting. (True and
correct copy of Exit Interview attached hereto as Shearer Exhibit C.) Currently, I am an hourly supervisor at
Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse.
11. 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 Ohio that the foregoing is true
and correct.
This Declaration was signed by me on ______________________
(month and day), 2003, at _______________________ (city and state).
______________________________
Jody Shearer