Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is facing a federal class-action lawsuit stemming from an allegation that it discriminated against an employee by not providing insurance to her same-sex partner.
Former Wal-Mart employee Jacqueline A. Cote filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boston. She alleges that Wal-Mart repeatedly denied requests to cover her spouse beginning in 2008.
Wal-Mart began offering benefits to same-sex couples in January 2014. It announced the same-sex benefits after a 2013 ruling from the Supreme Court that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act. Cote's lawsuit, however, alleges that Wal-Mart again denied benefits to her partner immediately after the 2013 Supreme Court ruling.
"We have not yet seen the details of the lawsuit and out of respect for Ms. Cote we are not going to comment other than to say our benefits coverage previous to the 2014 update was consistent with the law," Wal-Mart spokesman Brian Nick said.
Cote and her spouse, Diana "Dee" Smithson were married in 2004 after Massachusetts allowed same-sex unions. Both worked at Wal-Mart until Smithson left the company in 2008 to care for Cote's mother. Beginning in 2008 or 2009, Cote began attempting to enroll her partner in Wal-Mart's family health insurance plan, but could not.
Smithson was diagnosed with cancer in 2012, and the lawsuit alleges that the couple incurred at least than $150,000 in expenses because of Wal-Mart's benefits policies at the time.
"Owing that amount of debt has not only been enormously stressful to Jackie and Dee, but it also has further complicated and harmed Dee's health, well-being and recovery."
A January ruling by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission opened the door for Cote to file the lawsuit. She filed a charge of discrimination in September 2014 alleging that she was "treated differently and denied benefits because of her sex, since such coverage would have been provided if she were a woman married to a man."
The commission determined on Jan. 29 that "there is reasonable cause to believe" Wal-Mart discriminated against Cote "on account of her sex."
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs filed the lawsuit on behalf of Cote. According to GLAD, this is the first class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of gay workers since the Supreme Court ruled June 26 that same-sex couples have the right to marry.
GLAD attorney Allison Wright said in a statement that many gay and transgender people "live without explicit protections from employment discrimination." She added that strengthening protections will help gays and transgender people achieve economic equality and equal treatment.
Business on 07/15/2015