Walmart to Pay Millions in Wrongful Termination Case

A former pharmacist at a Walmart in Seabrook, NH has just been awarded over $31 million in a wrongful termination lawsuit against mega-retailer Walmart. The woman, who worked at Walmart for about 18 years, filed the suit in 2014, alleging that she was fired because she’s female, because she has a medical condition, and because she reported safety concerns about the way her coworkers were trained and performed their jobs. Walmart has claimed ever since she was fired in November of 2012 that it was because she lost her pharmacy key.

The plaintiff’s suit stated that, in 2010 and 2011, 13 employees in the pharmacy department left due to a variety of circumstances and that those employees were not replaced with properly trained and experienced people. She alleged that this caused “regulatory violations regarding the safe practice of pharmacy,” a fact which she reported twice, once to the Chief Compliance Investigator of the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy and once to her district manager. Nothing was done to address the situation either time, leading to the plaintiff growing increasingly stressed and anxious, which resulted in physical symptoms such as weight loss, headaches, and stomach problems. She also began taking prescription sleep aids and took a two-week medical leave of absence, both on her doctor’s advice. While she was on her leave, another pharmacy employee accessed her medical information and began to spread private details about her health to other employees. That employee was never properly disciplined for this violation, despite the plaintiff reporting it to her supervisor. Then, after the plaintiff mislaid her pharmacy key while moving to a different house and reported it, per procedure, she was fired. This is despite the fact that several other, male pharmacy employees had not been let go after losing their keys.

The outcome of this case has been almost two years in the making. Finally, in November of 2015, Walmart asked the court to grant summary judgment and was surprised when the case was allowed to proceed to trial on multiple counts of discrimination, one count of retaliation, and one count of wrongful termination. In the end, the jury sided with the plaintiff, resulting in her award of $31.22 million comprising both front and back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. Walmart has stated that it will appeal the verdict.