Getty Images/ Jay Moorthy
How to Beat Wal-Mart in Court
One pharmacist just won $2 million from the retailer for discrimination and wrongful termination. Here's a look at how her lawyers did it.
By Emily Keller
Cynthia Haddad of Pittsfield, Mass., has won a legal victory that few thought possible. Three years after she was fired from a Wal-Mart store where she had worked for 10 years as a pharmacist and manager, a jury ruled in Haddad's favor and found the retailing giant guilty of gender discrimination and defamation. The jury also awarded Haddad nearly $2 million.
The past years have been difficult for Haddad. She was out of work for six months. She felt that Wal-Mart stole a piece of her identity by damaging her reputation as a pharmacist. Wal-Mart said she was dismissed for failing to secure the pharmaceuticals at her store, while Haddad contended she was pushed out because she complained about the discrepancy between her pay and that of male pharmacists. Haddad eventually found another job at the independent Lenox Village Integrative Pharmacy in Lenox, Mass., but she continued to fight Wal-Mart.
"This wasn't an easy thing and I'll tell you, I don't ever want to do it again," said Haddad, a mother of four. “I had to be strong, and not just for my daughter. My boys, too, should know that people should be treated the same way and paid the same way."
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