In February 1999, the St. Louis District Office of the EEOC brought this suit against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The complaint is unavailable; however, it appears from the judgment in this case that the complaint alleged that the defendant terminated the charging party, a female employee, in retaliation for her complaints of sexual harassment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Settlement conferences were held in November and December of 1999, but the case did not settle.

The case went to trial in March 2000. The jury found for the defendant, Wal-Mart, on the sexual harassment claim but found for the plaintiff on the retaliation claim. The plaintiff was awarded $2905.25 in costs, $7,000 for lost wages, and $100,000 in punitive damages. After trial, the plaintiff moved to modify the judgment to include injunctive relief, which was granted. Wal-Mart was also required to post notice of the case at the Glen Carbon, IL Wal-Mart store, put a memo detailing the results of the case in the charging party's personnel file, and to notify the St. Louis EEOC office of any employee discharges at its Glen Carbon store.

Kevin Wilemon - 09/24/2007


compress summary