Walmart to Pay $415,112 in EEOC Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Suit

Lewisburg, W.V. – Wal-Mart Stores East, LP (Walmart) will pay $415,112 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the former manager of a Walmart Supercenter in Lewisburg, West Virginia subjected female employees to egregious sexual harassment, including unwelcome and offensive sexual touching; requests for sexual acts in exchange for money or favorable treatment at work; requests that female workers expose their breasts; and making crude sexual innuendos.

The EEOC charged that Walmart received multiple complaints about the store manager’s conduct and failed to take appropriate action to stop the harassment. After the store manager subjected a female employee to particularly egregious harassment, she reported the harassment to Walmart. The company then fired her in retaliation for her actions opposing the harassment and because she filed a charge of discrimination, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits harassment and discrimination because of sex. Title VII also prohibits employers from firing employees in retaliation for opposing harassment or discrimination or for participating in the EEOC complaint and investigative process. The EEOC filed suit (U.S. EEOC, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, et al., Civil Action No. 5:23-cv-00623) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the conciliation process.

The parties subsequently reached a voluntary agreement to settle the case by entry of a consent decree, which has now been approved by a federal court. In addition to paying $415,112 in monetary relief to two aggrieved female workers, the decree also requires Walmart to undertake significant non-monetary measures concerning sexual harassment prevention, such as prohibiting rehire of the former store manager at any Walmart store; providing specialized training on conducting sexual harassment investigations; supplementing company policies to ensure that sexual harassment and retaliation investigations are conducted by personnel who have no conflicts of interest and have received specialized training; and consenting to EEOC compliance monitoring and reporting requirements.

“Employers have a duty under federal law to take prompt, reasonable action to stop sexual harassment and prevent it from happening again,” said EEOC Philadelphia District Office Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence. “Diligent investigations – which include considering relevant past complaints against an alleged harasser, thoroughly interviewing coworkers and others who may know about the work environment, and not demanding supporting witnesses or an admission of wrongdoing as a general prerequisite for taking action – are essential to compliance with that legal duty.”

EEOC Philadelphia District Office Director Jamie R. Williamson said, “The EEOC remains committed to ensuring that employees have workplaces that are free of unlawful harassment and that workers are not punished for reporting such behavior.”

For more information on sexual harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment. For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The lawsuit was commenced by the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office. The Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.