Real Story of Firing Discrimination

Cynthia worked for Wal-Mart as a night receiving associate from February 1993 to June 1995. She worked with 10 to 15 male employees. Cynthia testified that the male employees would make derogatory remarks to her. She complained to a manager in March of 1995, but the behavior continued. In June 1995, Paul told Cynthia and the other employees that a shipment of fans was to be unloaded and kept separate from other merchandise. Cynthia tried to separate the fans according to her supervisor's instructions, but some of her male coworkers placed other merchandise on the fans' pallets. When she tried to stop them, they taunted her. Cynthia told Paul that she was tired of the way she was being treated and explained that her male coworkers were mixing up the merchandise on the pallets. She told Paul that she was too upset to continue working that night and wished to go home. Cynthia advised Paul that if the harassment did not stop she would have to consider giving her two-week notice. Paul then unlocked the door and walked Cynthia to her car.

When Cynthia returned to work on her next scheduled work night, Paul told her that she was fired for leaving work without permission. Cynthia's coworkers who had taunted her and mixed up the merchandise on her pallets were not disciplined in any way. Less than two weeks later, Cynthia filed a charge of discriminatory firing on the basis of sex against Wal-Mart. At the hearing before the Human Rights Commission (HRC), Cynthia proved that she is a member of a protected class, that she was performing her job satisfactorily, that she was fired despite performing satisfactorily, and that a similarly employee who was not a member of the protected group was not also fired. Cynthia gave evidence that one of her co-workers, John, was not fired for leaving work early.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., v. Human Rights Commission, 717 N.E.2d 552