Wal-Mart settles pair of lawsuits
Posted on Sat, Jun. 03, 2006
Wal-Mart settles pair of lawsuits
MELISSA FOLLOWELL
Herald Staff Writer
MANATEE - Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $315,000 in damages in response to two separate lawsuits that originated in a Manatee County store.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuits on behalf of three women who worked at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter located at 2911, 53rd Ave. E.
The first lawsuit was filed in August 2004 on behalf of employees Virginia Rylance and Linda Gliotti. According to the consent decree, the EEOC claimed that Wal-Mart was at fault because it subjected the women to "sexual harassment by a Wal-Mart manager which was sufficiently severe and pervasive to constitute a hostile, intimidating work environment."
The male department manager exposed himself, grabbed and fondled the women, requested sex and other inappropriate actions. Rylance quit her job in 2003 because of the actions and the manager, who was not named in the lawsuit, resigned, the EEOC said in a press release this week.
The second lawsuit was filed in February 2005 based on a charge filed by Laura Fulton-Eddy. She alleged an assistant manager at the same store sexually harassed her. The male assistant manager allegedly sexually propositioned Fulton-Eddy, subjected her to vulgar language and touched private parts of her body. The harassment didn't stop until the manager was transferred out of the store for "unrelated reasons."
Rylance will receive $40,000 for lost wages and an additional $160,000 for compensatory and punitive damages.
A Chapter 7 trustee for Gliotti will receive $90,000 for compensatory and punitive damages. The remaining $25,000 will be paid to Fulton-Eddy.
In addition to the monetary settlement, all employees and managers at the store, which sits near the intersection of State Road 70 and U.S. 301, will have to undergo sexual harassment training and be provided copies of the company's sexual harassment policy.
"Racial and sexual discrimination are intolerable in any workplace," said EEOC's Miami District Director Federico Costales. "The settlement of these cases advances the EEOC's efforts to eradicate employment discrimination, and should remind Florida employers to heighten their awareness of job bias by taking proactive measures to prevent it."
The lawsuits were settled earlier this week in the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida.
Wal-Mart reported net sales of $312.4 billion in the 2006 fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31, according to the company's annual shareholders report.
Melissa Followell, Herald
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reporter, can be reached at 708-7920 or mfollowell@HeraldToday.com.
Wal-Mart settles pair of lawsuits
MELISSA FOLLOWELL
Herald Staff Writer
MANATEE - Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $315,000 in damages in response to two separate lawsuits that originated in a Manatee County store.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuits on behalf of three women who worked at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter located at 2911, 53rd Ave. E.
The first lawsuit was filed in August 2004 on behalf of employees Virginia Rylance and Linda Gliotti. According to the consent decree, the EEOC claimed that Wal-Mart was at fault because it subjected the women to "sexual harassment by a Wal-Mart manager which was sufficiently severe and pervasive to constitute a hostile, intimidating work environment."
The male department manager exposed himself, grabbed and fondled the women, requested sex and other inappropriate actions. Rylance quit her job in 2003 because of the actions and the manager, who was not named in the lawsuit, resigned, the EEOC said in a press release this week.
The second lawsuit was filed in February 2005 based on a charge filed by Laura Fulton-Eddy. She alleged an assistant manager at the same store sexually harassed her. The male assistant manager allegedly sexually propositioned Fulton-Eddy, subjected her to vulgar language and touched private parts of her body. The harassment didn't stop until the manager was transferred out of the store for "unrelated reasons."
Rylance will receive $40,000 for lost wages and an additional $160,000 for compensatory and punitive damages.
A Chapter 7 trustee for Gliotti will receive $90,000 for compensatory and punitive damages. The remaining $25,000 will be paid to Fulton-Eddy.
In addition to the monetary settlement, all employees and managers at the store, which sits near the intersection of State Road 70 and U.S. 301, will have to undergo sexual harassment training and be provided copies of the company's sexual harassment policy.
"Racial and sexual discrimination are intolerable in any workplace," said EEOC's Miami District Director Federico Costales. "The settlement of these cases advances the EEOC's efforts to eradicate employment discrimination, and should remind Florida employers to heighten their awareness of job bias by taking proactive measures to prevent it."
The lawsuits were settled earlier this week in the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida.
Wal-Mart reported net sales of $312.4 billion in the 2006 fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31, according to the company's annual shareholders report.
Melissa Followell, Herald
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
reporter, can be reached at 708-7920 or mfollowell@HeraldToday.com.
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