Accusing Walmart of being discriminatory towards women through its choice of uniforms, a female truck driver has reportedly filed a lawsuit against the retailing giant in an Alabama federal district court.
The plaintiff has claimed that Walmart’s uniforms pose a financial burden on women drivers because the pants are designed to fit men, leaving women to purchase their own pants for comfort. However, no reimbursement is provided to employees for purchasing work clothes outside of the company.
The Bentonville, Arkansas based retailer requires its drivers to wear specific pants and shirts provided by them. However, the pants provided as part of the uniform are designed to fit men and they’re often “uncomfortable & poorly fitting” to women.
The plaintiff argues that this sexually discriminating uniform protocol leaves women to either bear with the discomfort or buy their own pants. Furthermore, the women drivers cannot even make use of the free laundry services provided by Walmart as it is available exclusively for company-provided uniforms.
“Walmart’s nationwide practice is to provide pants that only fit their male drivers, while requiring only female employees like the plaintiff employed by Walmart and other females similarly situated, wherever located, to purchase and launder their own uniform pants,” the complaint states. “This is blatant sex discrimination by Walmart against its female drivers.”
According to the complaint, the matter was brought to the notice of Walmart’s human resource department and respective supervisors. But it was dismissed on the ground that if Walmart reimbursed her for uniforms and laundry, the company will have to do that for all female drivers.
Since no reformatory action was taken after addressing the issue internally, the plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Oct. 5. On Oct. 25, the EEOC issued the plaintiff a right to sue letter. The lawsuit alleges one count of sexual discrimination under Title VII and one count of unjust enrichment.
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