Walmart Must Pay $16.2 Million in Gender Discrimination Trial
Walmart Must Pay $16.2 Million in Gender Discrimination Trial
A New Hampshire District Court denied Walmart’s bid for a new trial and instead awarded Plaintiff, Maureen McPadden, $16.2 million for her state and federal gender discrimination, wrongful discharge, and retaliation claims. McPadden v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P., No. 14-cv-475, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126789, at *3 (D.N.H. Sept. 16, 2016). This came after a jury awarded Ms. McPadden over $31 million, including $15 million in punitive damages, which was later cut to the statutory maximum of $300,000 for Title VII claims.
After working as a Walmart pharmacist for 18 years, Ms. McPadden was terminated after she lost a key to the pharmacy that was issued to her. Walmart claimed that this lost key, in addition to her disciplinary history, warranted her discharge. The jury rejected Walmart’s explanation and found that Ms. McPadden’s termination was motivated by unlawful gender discrimination and retaliation. Contrary to Walmart’s contentions, Ms. McPadden had only a minor disciplinary history. The jury also concluded that Walmart retaliated against Ms. McPadden for reporting what she believed were serious HIPAA violations, prescription errors and safety issues relating to staffing deficiencies.
The Court denied Walmart’s motion for a new trial, holding that there was “ample evidence” to support the jury’s conclusion that Walmart’s decision to terminate Ms. McPadden was unlawful.
About Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP
Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP focuses on complex civil litigation, including securities, antitrust, wage and hour, and consumer class actions as well as shareholder derivative and merger and transactional litigation. The firm is headquartered in New York, and maintains offices in California, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Since its founding in 1995, Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP has served as lead or co-lead counsel in numerous high-profile cases which ultimately provided significant recoveries to investors, consumers and employees.
To schedule a free consultation with our attorneys and to learn more about your legal rights, call our offices today at (877) 247-4292.
About Innessa Melamed
Innessa Melamed is an Associate in Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP’s New York office and focuses her practice on employment law and wage and hour class action litigation.
Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP focuses on complex civil litigation, including securities, antitrust, wage and hour and consumer class actions as well as shareholder derivative and merger and transactional litigation. The firm is headquartered in New York, and maintains offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
Since its founding in 1995, Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP has served as lead or co-lead counsel in numerous high-profile cases which ultimately provided significant recoveries to investors, direct purchasers, consumers and employees.
To schedule a free consultation with our attorneys and to learn more about your legal rights, call our offices today at (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330.
Innessa M. Huot is a Partner in the firm’s New York office and Chair of the firm’s Employment Practice Group.
