BORDERS v. WALMART SETTLEMENT

The information contained on this web page is only a summary of information presented in more detail in the Notice of Class Action, Proposed Settlement Agreement, and Settlement Hearing (the “Notice”), which you can access by clicking here. Since this website is just a summary, you should review the Notice for aditional information.

This website informs you about this lawsuit, the certification of settlement classes (the “Class”), the terms of a proposed settlement (the “Settlement”), and your rights in connection with a hearing which will be held before the Court on April 29, 2020 at 1:30PM., to consider the fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy of the Settlement. This website also describes the steps Class Members should take to exclude themselves from the Class and, for those who remain Class Members, the steps necessary to seek payment from the Settlement Fund if the Court approves the Settlement.

Class Definition—You May Be Part of the Class

You are a member of the Class affected by the Settlement if you fit within one of these two definitions:

1) All women employed by Walmart at stores in the 39 National Policy States [1] who were denied requested accommodations because of pregnancy by the Accommodation Service Center (ASC) from March 19, 2013 through March 5, 2014.

OR

2) All women employed by Walmart at stores nationwide who were denied requested accommodations because of pregnancy by store level management and/or store-level human resource personnel from March 19, 2013 through March 5, 2014.

If you received a Notice in a mailing addressed to you, then you may have been an employee who was pregnant sometime between March 19, 2013 and March 5, 2014. If you requested a workplace accommodation because of pregnancy and Walmart denied your request during this time period, then you have legal rights and options that you may exercise before the Court finally approves the Settlement.

The Settlement Fund

At this time, it is not possible to make any determination as to how much any individual Settlement Class member may receive from the Settlement.

Walmart will pay $14 million dollars ($14,000,000) into a Settlement Fund. Most of the Settlement Fund will pay Class Members. A portion of the Settlement Fund, not to exceed $200,000, will be used to pay the costs of administering the Settlement. A portion of the Settlement Fund will also be used to reimburse Class Counsel for the costs and expenses of the litigation as well as pay attorneys’ fees. This amount will not exceed one-third of the Settlement Fund plus costs. Class Counsel will submit a request for payment of their fees and costs to the Court by March 27, 2020. The remainder of the Settlement Fund will be distributed to the Named Plaintiffs and Class Members to compensate them for their claims. In order to be eligible to receive a share from the Settlement Fund, Class Members must submit a Claim Form, a copy of which accompanies this Notice, as described below.

The Settlement Hearing The Court will decide whether to finally approve this Settlement after a Settlement Hearing to be held at the U.S. District Court in Benton, Illinois on April 29, 2020 at 1:30PM, before the Honorable Staci M. Yandle. The Court will determine whether the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and whether it should be approved. The Court will also consider whether the motion of the Plaintiffs’ attorneys for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses should be approved, and whether an order and judgment should be entered bringing the litigation to a conclusion.

Further Information:

This website and the Notice summarize the Settlement. For more details regarding this Settlement please reference the Settlement Agreement, or other documents filed in the case under the "Important Documents". You may also contact the Claims Administrator or Lead Counsel for further information regarding this Settlement by clicking here