EEOC v$.$ Wal$-$Mart Stores, Inc., No$.01-330($E$.$D$.$ Ky$.$ March $1,2010)$

EEOC filed this Title VII lawsuit alleging that the defendant, an international discount retailer, failed to hire women for order filler positions in its London, Kentucky, distribution center because of their sex. Charging Party worked at Wal$-$Mart's retail store in London, and in October $1998$ sought a transfer to the distribution center, which was denied. There was a significant disparity between female applicants for warehouse positions, almost all of which were for order fillers, and their selection for warehouse jobs. The $5-$year consent decree applies to the London distribution center and provides for $$11,700,000($$$8,405,877$ in backpay and $$3,294,123$ in compensatory damages$)$ to be paid into a qualified settlement fund $($QSF$)$ account established by a third party settlement claims administrator. Eligible claimants are females who sought employment at the London distribution center from January $1,1998,$ through February $15,2005,$ whose applications do not contain exclusionary criteria and who were denied employment at least once during the relevant time period. EEOC has sole discretion regarding eligibility status and allocation of the QSF$.$ The decree enjoins defendant from sex discrimination in hiring for the orderfiller position and prohibits retaliation. Defendant will use validated interview questions for the order filler position. EEOC will provide defendant a list of eligible claimants for instatement, and defendant will fill the first $50$ orderfiller positions at the London facility from the list; for the next $50$ openings, defendant will fill every other job from the list and thereafter every third position. Defendant will report annually to EEOC on its compliance with the decree, including the number of males and females who apply for orderfiller positions or for an unspecified hourly warehouse job, the number of males and females hired for order filler positions, information on individuals promoted or transferred into orderfiller positions, and instatement information. Defendant will retain records necessary for EEOC to monitor future hiring into the order filler position.