Feminists Celebrate Judge's Ruling to Grant Class-Action Status to Wal-Mart Discrimination Suit

September 5, 2002

by NOW Staff

In a victory for women workers, a federal judge in Atlanta on Friday granted class-action status to a lawsuit that contends Wal-Mart discriminates against women by denying health insurance coverage for birth control.

Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, is also the most sued corporation in the country, facing numerous allegations of sex discrimination in pay, promotion and compensation; of wage abuses, violation of child labor laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The National Organization for Women named Wal-Mart a Merchant of Shame in June.

U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes ruled Aug. 30 that all women who were employed by Wal-Mart after March 2001 can pursue claims against the company if they had to purchase prescription contraceptives because their insurance plans didn't cover them.

Lisa Smith Mauldin, a customer service manager for a Wal-Mart in Hiram, Ga., filed the suit last year. Making an annual salary of about $20,000, the 23-year-old divorced mother of two had difficulty paying for prescription contraceptives each month. Her lawsuit asks that women workers at Wal-Mart be reimbursed for birth control prescriptions.

Wal-Mart, which employs more than 1 million people, 80 percent of whom are women, reportedly saves about $5 million a month by denying prescription contraceptive coverage to its female employees.

Feminist leaders celebrated the judge's decision to allow the Georgia case to proceed and called on Wal-Mart to cover prescription contraceptives for its employees.

"Contraception is a fundamental part of women's preventive health care and there's absolutely no reason for Wal-Mart not to recognize this fact and treat women fairly when it comes to prescription coverage," said NOW Action Vice-President Olga Vives. "The nation's largest corporation should be a model workplace, not the worst of bad examples."

For more information on Wal-Mart and NOW's Merchant of Shame campaign:
http://www.now.org/issues/wfw/wal-mart.html