Wal-Mart lost a lawsuit to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2010, due to their negligence and sexual discrimination against hiring women to work in their warehouse located in London Kentucky. Wal-Mart will be required to pay 12 million dollars to settle this lawsuit; the 12 million dollars will be split up amongst a number of claimants. “Along with the back pay and damages, as part of the settlement Wal-Mart will fill the first 50 order-filler jobs at the warehouse with female hires. After that, female hires will make up a fixed percentage of open positions.” (Barrouquere, 2010)
Wal-Mart’s warehouse had for seven years given positions to male applicants, while overlooking female applicants even though they were equally qualified or even more qualified for the job position due to their sex. Wal-Mart managers were said to have told the female applicants that the position was not one for a female to be working. “According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Wal-Mart’s London, Ky., Distribution Center denied jobs to female applicants from 1998 through February 2005. During that time period, the EEOC contends, Wal-Mart regularly hired male entry-level applicants for warehouse positions, but excluded female appli¬cants who were equally or better qualified. The EEOC alleged that Wal-Mart regularly used gender stereotypes in filling entry-level order filler positions. Hiring officials told applicants that order filling positions were not suitable for women, and that they hired mainly 18- to 25-year-old males for order filling positions, the EEOC said” (EEOC, 2010)
Wal-Mart’s discrimination left them a hefty fine to pay and the opportunity to alter their qualification questions and also insured that the new hire’s the company will have in the future will be women that qualify for the job. Management could have solved this problem prior to it becoming a problem. I