John Stewart
Tue, 02/15/2022
On January 11, 2022, a Walmart driver in Madison County, Alabama, filed a class action lawsuit against her employer, alleging that Walmart’s uniform policy is unlawfully discriminatory. The driver, Diana Webb, alleges in her lawsuit that Walmart requires its drivers to wear a specific uniform—including pants—each day.
Walmart provides all drivers with the required uniform and even provides a dry-cleaning / laundry service for the uniform pants. Yet instead of providing each employee a uniform that fits, Webb alleges, Walmart provides only men’s pants, for both male and female drivers, even though, for women, it is “impossible to wear the men’s pants provided by Walmart specifically made to fit only male employees.” Webb explains that she and other female Walmart drivers, unlike their male coworkers, must purchase and launder their own uniform pants, at their own expense, or face termination for violations of the uniform policy.
The case is currently pending before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, and Walmart’s responsive pleading is due to be filed on March 27, 2022. Webb’s lawsuit will be worth following in the coming months, given its potentially important ramifications, not only for Walmart drivers, but for women facing discriminatory uniform policies in other industries as well.
If you believe your employer is enforcing a discriminatory uniform policy—or engaged in other unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex, race, or other protected characteristics—please contact us at info@mselaborlaw.com.
