Wal-Mart just fired lead plaintiff in sexual harassment suit, her
lawyer says
February 19, 2010
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may have opened the door to yet more legal
troubles when it fired the lead plaintiff in a sexual harassment
lawsuit this week, along with the woman's husband, according to their
lawyer.
Cory Rosenbaum of New York's Rosenbaum Faria said on Thursday that he
is preparing to file retaliation charges against the retailer over
what he called a "bizarre" decision to fire his client and her husband
just weeks after the sexual harassment suit was filed.
The plaintiff, Melissa Jackson, is one of several women who is suing
Wal-Mart, alleging the retailer knowingly allowed an associate at a
store in Monticello, N.Y., to work alongside them, despite their
complaints that he had sexually harassed them.
The suit was filed Jan. 22. On Feb. 16, after working the midnight
shift, Jackson and her husband were fired, according to Rosenbaum.
"I don't know why they would do that," said Rosenbaum, who called his
clients model employees. "They've both been there for a decade, and
within two weeks of filing a lawsuit they get fired. It doesn't make
any sense. It's clearly retaliation."
Officials at Wal-Mart were not available for comment. Michael Hanan, a
partner in the Princeton, N.J., office of Fox Rothschild, who
represents the Monticello store, did not return calls for comment. And
a response to the sexual harassment lawsuit has not been filed yet.
Rosenbaum also has an age discrimination lawsuit pending against the
same Wal-Mart store. In that suit, filed Feb. 11, a group of nine
employees is suing Wal-Mart for $20 million, alleging the Monticello
store routinely fires older, more experienced workers and replaces
them with younger, less experienced employees.
The latest lawsuits follow a series of major settlements that Wal-Mart
has paid over the last year to resolve employment disputes. Most
recently, Wal-Mart agreed in December to pay $40 million to resolve
what may be the largest wage-and-hour class action settlement in
Massachusetts history.
MILORD
lawyer says
February 19, 2010
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may have opened the door to yet more legal
troubles when it fired the lead plaintiff in a sexual harassment
lawsuit this week, along with the woman's husband, according to their
lawyer.
Cory Rosenbaum of New York's Rosenbaum Faria said on Thursday that he
is preparing to file retaliation charges against the retailer over
what he called a "bizarre" decision to fire his client and her husband
just weeks after the sexual harassment suit was filed.
The plaintiff, Melissa Jackson, is one of several women who is suing
Wal-Mart, alleging the retailer knowingly allowed an associate at a
store in Monticello, N.Y., to work alongside them, despite their
complaints that he had sexually harassed them.
The suit was filed Jan. 22. On Feb. 16, after working the midnight
shift, Jackson and her husband were fired, according to Rosenbaum.
"I don't know why they would do that," said Rosenbaum, who called his
clients model employees. "They've both been there for a decade, and
within two weeks of filing a lawsuit they get fired. It doesn't make
any sense. It's clearly retaliation."
Officials at Wal-Mart were not available for comment. Michael Hanan, a
partner in the Princeton, N.J., office of Fox Rothschild, who
represents the Monticello store, did not return calls for comment. And
a response to the sexual harassment lawsuit has not been filed yet.
Rosenbaum also has an age discrimination lawsuit pending against the
same Wal-Mart store. In that suit, filed Feb. 11, a group of nine
employees is suing Wal-Mart for $20 million, alleging the Monticello
store routinely fires older, more experienced workers and replaces
them with younger, less experienced employees.
The latest lawsuits follow a series of major settlements that Wal-Mart
has paid over the last year to resolve employment disputes. Most
recently, Wal-Mart agreed in December to pay $40 million to resolve
what may be the largest wage-and-hour class action settlement in
Massachusetts history.
MILORD
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