Tag Archives: Class action

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Wal-Mart Manager Madness – Vote Now on the Sexist 16 Statements


Sex discrimination. In the workplace. It’s madness — right? Imagine hearing things like this at work:

If you would wear lower-cut shirts, you would probably get more pay. http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=HvaOesls0-FHTQ3cfXQKxA..   

The way I see it, a whore for a quarter is a whore for a quarter. http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=01ZMZ7SCfGr09L3YK77-jg..

Men are here to make a career and women aren’t. Retail is for housewives who just need to earn extra money. http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=ArxJU8ZkMvfNjVt3bse_ZQ..

Women working at Wal-Mart report that these were just a few of the absurd statements made by Wal-Mart managers. They are part of the record in the largest class-action fair pay case in history: Wal-Mart v. Dukes, which is being heard today in the U.S. Supreme Court. Reports like these from more than 100 women employees at Wal-Mart describe egregious stereotyping that may have resulted in lower pay and fewer promotions. It IS madness — in fact, it’s Manager Madness. http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=Kmy1ba182tFpC33GZDh_AQ..

Which sexist statement will reign supreme? We’ve seeded our own special March Madness bracket, and you get to determine the results. It’s up to you to decide — we’re pitting “Low Cut Shirts” manager against “Whore for a Quarter” manager — and more. Wal-Mart Manager Madness: The Sexist 16 is now open for voting! http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=vYGICmWgSg2Fp81UNOFQJg..

Voting opens today for the first round! Round 1 will have 16 of the “best” — er, “worst,” sexist statements available for your outraged perusal. Vote today — and every day, until we vote for our Sexist Slam-Dunk Final on Equal Pay Day (April 12th)!

It’s not every day that a case of such importance to working women goes before the Supreme Court! Today happens to be that day — oral arguments are happening right now in front of the country’s highest court, and we need to make sure these outrageous statements get the attention they deserve. Vote today! http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=bCiJsgUtkMRj1f-t0Srs2g..

Sincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves

Vice President for Education and Employment

National Women’s Law Center

P.S. As you’re voting, honor the brave women of Wal-Mart today by taking action to ask your Member of Congress to co-sponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act.

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Take Action: Send a Message to the Wal-Mart Women


A woman taking a stand for fair pay is incredible. A whole group of women taking a stand for fair pay? Inspirational. And that’s exactly what is happening now.

Send a Message of Support to the Women of Wal-Mart

 The inspiring women of Wal-Mart are standing up against pay discrimination. Will you send them a message of support today?

www.nwlc.org

Ten years after Betty Dukes and her colleagues first brought their claims of discrimination in pay and promotions against Wal-Mart, their case will go before the Supreme Court in two weeks. It doesn’t get much more inspiring than that!

They need our support. Women at Wal-Mart on average were paid far less than men, despite generally having higher performance ratings and more seniority. And women employees were more likely to be passed over for promotions.

Women are not WorthLess. Add your voice and support the women of Wal-Mart!

On March 29, arguments will start in the case to determine whether women employed at Wal-Mart stores across the country can join together in a class action to challenge Wal-Mart’s pay and promotion practices alleged to discriminate against women.

It isn’t easy for these women to do what they are doing — but it’s the right thing to do. Take action and send them a message of appreciation today!

Thank you for your support, and we’ll keep you updated as the case progresses!

Sincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves

Vice President for Education and Employment

National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Want more information about the case? Check out our new fact sheet about the type of gender stereotyping these women faced on the job at Wal-Mart.

www.nwlc.org

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Take Action: Support the Women of Wal-Mart


As you may already know, the women of Wal-Mart have taken their fight for fair pay all the way to the Supreme Court.

Today the National Women’s Law Center, together with the American Civil Liberties Union and 32 other organizations, took a stand in support of the women of Wal-Mart by filing a friend-of-the-court brief in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, the Supreme Court case.

Pledge now to Stand with the Women of Wal-Mart and to continue to fight against pay discrimination. www.nwlc.org

The brief tells a shocking story. Women at Wal-Mart on average earned $5,000 less than men, even though women tended to have higher performance ratings and more seniority. Women also were less likely to be promoted to store manager positions and had to wait significantly longer for promotions than men.

As our new fact sheet highlights, scores of statements from women employed at Wal-Mart describe the gender stereotyping women regularly faced on the job. The claim in this case is that these sorts of stereotypes affected pay and promotion decisions at Wal-Mart because of Wal-Mart’s company-wide reliance on unchecked, subjective decision making by individual managers.

At the heart of this case is an important question — Is Wal-Mart too big to be held accountable?

We don’t think so. The Supreme Court has long held that when informal personnel practices lead to a discriminatory result, a class of employees can challenge this practice. The Supreme Court should rule that under these laws, there is no such thing as “too big to be held accountable.”

We will keep you updated on this case and provide opportunities to take action. Cases like this remind us of the profound and lasting impact our courts have on women and their families and why it’s important to confirm federal judges who understand the impact of the law on individuals and who are willing to hold powerful corporate interests accountable when they violate the law.

Will you pledge to Stand with the Women of Wal-Mart and continue to fight against pay discrimination?  www.nwlc.org

Thank you for continuing the fight against pay discrimination.

Sincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves

Vice President for Education and Employment

National Women’s Law Center

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Stand by the Women of Wal-Mart


When Lilly Ledbetter fought back against pay discrimination, you were there. After thousands of e-mails, phone calls, and letters to the editor, we helped to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and were just two votes short of moving forward with the Paycheck Fairness Act last fall.

Now it’s time to come together behind another group of brave women fighting pay discrimination. The women of Wal-Mart have taken their fight for fair pay all the way to the Supreme Court and they need our support.

Pledge now to stand with the women of Wal-Mart and to continue to fight against pay discrimination.

http://www.nwlc.org/what-you-can-do

So what is this case about? Ten years ago a group of women who worked at Wal-Mart stores filed a lawsuit alleging that their employer engaged in company-wide sex discrimination, by paying women less than comparable men, promoting fewer women to management positions, and promoting male employees more quickly.

On the very same day that the Center’s analysis showed that in 2010 women working full-time in sales and related occupations have the biggest wage gap in any industry, Wal-Mart filed a brief in the Supreme Court challenging the legality of its employees to proceed together in court. If Wal-Mart succeeds, the already uphill battle for women to fight pay discrimination will get even worse.

The Court’s ruling will affect women who face pay discrimination around the country, for generations to come. Cases like this remind us of the profound and lasting impact our courts have on the women and their families who rely on courts for justice, and the importance of confirming federal judges who understand the impact of the law on individuals and who are willing to hold powerful corporate interests accountable when they violate the law.

We will keep you updated on this case and provide opportunities to take action. Please join our efforts to bring attention to this critical issue. The Women of Wal-Mart need to know that we have their backs! Will you pledge to stand with the women of Wal-Mart and continue to fight against pay discrimination?

Thank you for continuing the fight against pay discrimination.

Sincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves

Vice President for Education and Employment

National Women’s Law Center

P.S. For more information about what’s at stake for women in this case, read our latest article in The Huffington Post.

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Important info about Google Buzz Class Action Settlement
Google rarely contacts Gmail users via email, but we are making an exception to let you know that we’ve reached a settlement in a lawsuit regarding Google Buzz (http://buzz.google.com), a service we launched within Gmail in February of this year. 

Shortly after its launch, we heard from a number of people who were concerned about privacy. In addition, we were sued by a group of Buzz users and recently reached a settlement in this case.

The settlement acknowledges that we quickly changed the service to address users’ concerns. In addition, Google has committed $8.5 million to an independent fund, most of which will support organizations promoting privacy education and policy on the web. We will also do more to educate people about privacy controls specific to Buzz. The more people know about privacy online, the better their online experience will be.

Just to be clear, this is not a settlement in which people who use Gmail can file to receive compensation. Everyone in the U.S. who uses Gmail is included in the settlement, unless you personally decide to opt out before December 6, 2010. The Court will consider final approval of the agreement on January 31, 2011. This email is a summary of the settlement, and more detailed information and instructions approved by the court, including instructions about how to opt out, object, or comment, are available at http://www.BuzzClassAction.com.