United States District Court s20

BRAD SELIGMAN (SBN 083838) JOSEPH SELLERS 1 JOCELYN D. LARKIN (SBN 110817) CHRISTINE WEBBER THE IMPACT FUND COHEN, MILSTEIN, HAUSFELD & TOLL 2 125 University Avenue West Tower – Suite 500 Berkeley, CA 94710 1100 New York Avenue 3 Telephone: (510) 845-3473 Washington, D.C. 20005-3964 Facsimile: (510) 845-3654 Telephone: (202) 408-4600 4 Facsimile: (202) 408-4699

5 SHEILA Y. THOMAS (SBN 161403) STEPHEN TINKLER DEBRA SMITH (SBN 147863) MERIT BENNETT 6 EQUAL RIGHTS ADVOCATES TINKLER & BENNETT 1663 Mission Street, Suite 250 309 Johnson Street 7 San Francisco, CA 94103 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 Telephone: (415) 621-0672 Telephone: (505) 986-0269 8 Facsimile: (415) 621-6744 Facsimile: (505) 982-6698

9 STEVE STEMERMAN (SBN 067690) DEBRA GARDNER 10 ELIZABETH LAWRENCE (SBN 111781) PUBLIC JUSTICE CENTER DAVIS, COWELL & BOWE 500 East Lexington Street 11 100 Van Ness Avenue, 20th Floor Baltimore, MD 21202 San Francisco, CA 94102 Telephone: (410) 625-9409 12 Telephone: (415) 626-1880 Facsimile: (410) 625-9423 Facsimile: (415) 626-2860 13 SHAUNA MARSHALL (SBN 90641) 14 HASTINGS COLLEGE OF THE LAW 200 McAllister Street 15 San Francisco, CA 94102 Telephone: (415) 565-4685 16 Facsimile: (415) 626-2860

17 Attorneys for Plaintiffs 18 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

19 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

20 BETTY DUKES, PATRICIA SURGESON, Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ EDITH ARANA, DEBORAH GUNTER, 21 CHRISTINE KWAPNOSKI, CLEO PAGE, KAREN WILLIAMSON, on behalf of DECLARATION OF ANNA STUMPF IN 22 themselves and all others similarly situated, SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 23 Plaintiffs 24 vs. 25 WAL-MART STORES, INC., 26 Defendant

27 1 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 1 I, Anna Stumpf, declare:

2 1. I have personal knowledge of the facts contained in this declaration and, if called as a witness,

3 am competent to testify to those facts.

4 2. I grew up in Versailles, Missouri, the site of one of the original five-and-dime stores run by Bud

5 Walton. Wal-Mart and particularly the Walton family were very important in the town. As

6 children, my classmates and I were excused early from school if Sam or Bud Walton came to

7 town. Several family friends were employed by Wal-Mart.

8 3. I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Southwest Missouri State in 1993. I was

9 recruited on campus by Wal-Mart for the Assistant Manager training program and started work

10 on May 17, 1993, three days after my college graduation. I was very excited for the opportunity

11 because I had seen Wal-Mart grow from a local business in my hometown to a retailer of

12 national importance. My parents were also very proud that I was going to work for Wal-Mart.

13 4. I understood from the outset of my employment with Wal-Mart that I was expected to be 100%

14 relocatable, meaning that I might have to move anywhere in the United States at any time.

15 Since 1993, I have been assigned to nine different locations in four different states (Missouri,

16 Florida, Virginia and Kentucky). I was also sent at various times to do short-term store set-ups

17 and clean-ups at stores in Tennessee and North Carolina.

18 5. From the time I was hired, my goal was to advance as far as I could within Wal-Mart

19 management. I was initially interested in becoming a store manager and, later, developed an

20 interest in becoming a Regional Personnel Manager. Because of my strong work ethic, good

21 people skills and consistently excellent reviews, I believed that I could reach these goals. For

22 eight years, I sacrificed many important things in my life - a stable home and community, friends

23 and family – for Wal-Mart. For example, I could not attend holidays with my parents and

24 extended family and I missed the funerals of a number of friends and family members. I was

25 unable to join and participate in any church where I lived because of my long hours, weekend

26 schedule and frequent moves.

27 2 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 1 6. At the beginning of my tenure with Wal-Mart, I trained for four months in the Osage Beach,

2 Missouri Wal-Mart store and was made an Assistant Manager in the store in October 1993. I

3 was transferred in March 1994 to a Jacksonville, Florida store. During the year that I was there,

4 the Jacksonville store went through a remodel, the holidays and inventory. During one period, I

5 worked 63 overnights in a row (a minimum 12-hour shift) without a day off. When I was not

6 working in my own store, I was often called in to help on my day off with the remodeling in

7 neighboring Wal-Mart stores.

8 7. I received a “meets expectations” rating on my evaluation in February 1995. However, District

9 Manager, Charles Durr, told me that my performance was “above standard,” but that I had not

10 been an assistant manager long enough to receive anything above a “standard” rating. The size

11 of my raise was determined by the evaluation rating. I wrote on my evaluation that “I hope to

12 eventually go on to Supercenters - and have my own store within four years.” Attached hereto as

13 Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of my February 1995 evaluation.

14 8. In May 1995, I requested a transfer back to Missouri, preferably to a supercenter where I felt that

15 I could best advance my career. I was placed in a Jefferson City, Missouri supercenter. When

16 District Manager Durr learned of my impending move to Missouri, he told me that he would

17 have given me the above standard rating had he known he would not be paying me for the entire

18 year. In other words, Mr. Durr made it clear to me that he underrated my evaluation in order to

19 lower payroll expenses in his district despite his recognition that I was performing at a higher

20 level and deserved higher pay.

21 9. My district manager in Jefferson City was Charles Benzoni. A few weeks after I arrived, he

22 approached me on the sales floor to talk. He told me that I was one of the hardest working, most

23 talented assistants that he had but also that I was the lowest paid assistant manager in the district.

24 He arranged for a pay adjustment for me, although I do not know whether the adjustment

25 brought me to a pay level that reflected the quality of my performance or was equal to my male

26 peers.

27 3 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 1 10. In March 1996, I interviewed at the Wal-Mart Home office for a position as Regional Trainer. I

2 received the position and was required to relocate to Brooksville, Florida, although I was

3 considered a Home Office employee. As a Regional Trainer, I was responsible for conducting

4 field training programs for Assistant Managers and other store managers, primarily the 3 ½ day

5 Leadership Foundation training. This training program, developed in the Bentonville

6 headquarters, had a standard curriculum and was administered company-wide. I was required to

7 make a two-year commitment to the position. During this time, I became interested in obtaining

8 a position as a Regional Personnel Manager.

9 11. While working as a Regional Trainer, I received an “exceeds expectations” performance rating in

10 March 1997. About my personal goals, I wrote: “This time next year my goal is to be a co-

11 manager in a Supercenter, a step toward my ultimate goal of becoming an RPM for the

12 Supercenter division.” Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a true and correct copy of my March 3,

13 1997 evaluation.

14 12. As a regional trainer, I became acquainted with Regional Vice President Leroy Schuetts and I

15 discussed with him my career goals at Wal-Mart. I considered this new relationship to be

16 extremely important for me because I had always understood the importance of having a mentor

17 in a corporation to help guide one’s career. I felt that Mr. Schuetts was willing to give me this

18 help. I told him that I had become interested in the Regional Personnel Manager (RPM)

19 position. He urged me to get back into store management if I wanted to meet my goal.

20 13. At Mr. Schuetts’ recommendation, I accepted a temporary position as a Co-Manager in the

21 Kissimmee, Florida store in September 1997. Mr. Schuetts wanted me to work there through the

22 holidays and then move to a store in Valdosta, GA that was slated to open. I was designated a

23 “Co-Manager in Training” in Kissimmee although I was doing the same work as the other co-

24 managers and was in no sense in training. In my past experience, the position of Co-Manager in

25 Training was ordinarily used only for brand new management employees to Wal-Mart, which I

26 plainly was not. I learned that I had been given this designation so that I would be paid out of

27 4 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 1 the Home Office training account rather than the store account. As a result, the store would

2 show higher revenue figures (ensuring the bonuses for existing store managers) but I would not

3 receive a bonus as all the other male Co-Managers in the store did. It also put me at a

4 disadvantage later in my career in applying for store manager positions, which often carried a

5 requirement that one have first completed 12 - 18 months as a Co-Manager. I am not aware of

6 any male employee in a comparable position that has been designated a “Co-Manager in

7 Training.”

8 14. After a month in Kissimmee, I was moved in November 1997 to Plant City, Florida as a third

9 Co-Manager. Regional Vice President Bob Erickson told me that the store was in bad shape

10 because the store manager had just been fired and the holidays were fast approaching. Leroy

11 Shuetts, who had now been promoted to Divisional Vice President, told me that the Plant City

12 assignment would be temporary and that I would soon be placed in a newly opening store in

13 Valdasta, Georgia. I still had the Co-Manager in Training designation and was not entitled to

14 receive a bonus, although I was working 70 to 80 hours per week.

15 15. I prepared and submitted comments in connection with my performance evaluation (which once

16 again was “exceeds expectation”) about the unfairness of the “in training” designation. I stated

17 in part: “I feel that for the five months that I was left in the Co-Manager training account I was

18 not utilized to my potential, challenged or developed in an effective manner. . . . decisions and

19 placements done in dealing with my career this year have put me at a disadvantage.” Attached

20 hereto as Exhibit C are true and correct copies of my evaluation and my comments. My district

21 manager, Guy Peshek, strongly encouraged me not to include these comments with my

22 evaluation, which he implied would hurt my image in the company. He also suggested to me

23 that the comments were unnecessary and would not make any difference. To me, this was a

24 clear message that the Open Door Policy was not intended for use by managers and that using it

25 might, in fact, be perceived negatively.

27 5 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 1 16. Just after the holidays, I learned from my Regional Personnel Manager and my Regional

2 President, Bob Erickson, of an opening for a Regional Personnel Manager. Knowing my keen

3 interest in the position, they submitted my name for consideration, after consulting with Leroy

4 Schuetts. Several weeks went by and I did not hear anything about my application so I faxed a

5 letter to Maxie Carpenter, who was the hiring authority for the position, on January 19, 1998. I

6 still heard nothing so, on January 23, I telephoned Mr. Carpenter. He told me that I was

7 ineligible for the position because I had not “run a store,” meaning that I had not been a store

8 manager. Within weeks of my conversation with Carpenter, I learned that an RPM position went

9 to a male employee, Joshua Ramsey, who ran the documentation department in the Home Office.

10 Mr. Ramsey had never served as a store manager.

11 17. In February 1998, I was making plans to move to Valdasta, Georgia when I received a call from

12 the new Regional Vice President Arthur Emmanuel. He told me that the company needed me to

13 stay at the Plant City, Florida store. Mr. Emmanuel felt that the troubled store was “turning

14 around” and he needed me to stay there. Perhaps recognizing the difficulty of the assignment,

15 Mr. Emmanuel promised me that I would have my own store (e.g. be promoted to store manager)

16 by the end of 1998 or beginning of 1999. He reassured me that I was a Rising Star in the region

17 and on the promotable list.

18 18. In August 1998, I attended the company-wide holiday meeting and ran into Divisional Vice

19 President Leroy Shuetts. Mr. Shuetts assumed that I had gone to Valdasta, Georgia but I told

20 him that I was still in Plant City. He told me that Wal-Mart was opening a store in Lexington,

21 Kentucky and he wanted me to move there as a third co-manager to assist with the opening. He

22 then said: “you’ll have your own store right after we open this one, we’ve moved you around

23 enough and if you can help us, we’ll take care of you.” I subsequently received a call from the

24 RPM over the Kentucky store, Debbie Moody. She advised me that DVP Shuetts and the RVP

25 for the store, Bill Dillehea, had talked and agreed that there would not be a third co-manager in

26 the store after the first of the year, and that I would then be promoted to store manager.

27 6 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 1 19. In September 1998, I moved to the Lexington, Kentucky store and assisted with the enormous

2 effort of opening the store. I was not promoted to a store manager position after the first of the

3 year, as had been promised. In January 1999, I checked the MCS job posting system for store

4 manager openings. I found an opening at a supercenter in Venice, Florida. As required, I sought

5 and received the approval of my district manager, Gerry Gant, before posting. I also spoke to

6 Divisional Vice President Schuetts, who encouraged me to post and described the position as a

7 “perfect first store.”

8 20. After posting, I did not hear anything and telephoned the RPM in Florida, Steve Schulteis. He

9 told me that I could not be interviewed because RVP Bill Dilleahea had entered a “no”

10 recommendation next to my name (i.e. vetoed my application). I was outraged and telephoned

11 RPM Debbie Moody to find out the reason that Mr. Dillehea was standing in the way of my

12 promotion. Ms. Moody advised me that Mr. Dilleahea would not move any of the managers out

13 of the Lexington, Kentucky store for six months after the opening, precisely the opposite of what

14 I had been told before moving to Kentucky, four months earlier.

15 21. I telephoned Mr. Dillehea in early February to discuss it. Wal-Mart policy (the “Sundown

16 Rule”) requires management to return phone messages from customers and employees on the

17 same day that they are received. He did not return my call for over a month. Attached hereto as

18 Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of the chronology of key events that I kept on my computer.

19 22. Before I heard from Mr. Dillehea, however, I received my written performance evaluation for

20 1998, which was again very high (4.1 - exceeds expectations) based on the excellent turn-around

21 work that I had done in Plant City. While the evaluation had been prepared by the district

22 manager over the Plant City store, Greg Ley, Mr. Gant told me that he wholeheartedly agreed

23 with its strong endorsement. Attached hereto as Exhibit E is a true and correct copy of the

24 performance evaluation dated February 19, 1999.

25 23. Despite the very high score, my district manager, Jerry Gant, then changed his tone and told me:

26 “I am supposed to tell you that you are not promotable and do not post.” Mr. Gant then read to

27 7 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 1 me from a list provided to him by Debby Moody (RPM for Bill Dillehea) of three areas in which

2 I purportedly needed to improve (i.e. get organized, be more firm, hold myself accountable, take

3 on a mentor). Ironically, these were the three key areas of strength identified in the written

4 performance evaluation that Mr. Gant had just given me. Mr. Gant could not offer any examples

5 of inadequate performance on my part and, to his credit, he told me that he did not agree with the

6 list. I was told not to post for store manager openings for six months and not to call Leroy

7 Schuetts to express interest in being promoted. I told Mr. Gant that I felt that I had been lied to

8 and that “the Open Door had been closed.” Mr. Gant told me candidly that he agreed with me

9 and that he would support me if I took further steps because he did not feel that I was being

10 treated fairly.

11 24. RVP Dillehea finally returned my phone call on March 9, 1999. He told me that he would not

12 put me on the promotable list and there were many others ahead of me on his list, people that he

13 had known longer and to whom he “owed favors.” I objected that I was already on the

14 promotable list and he responded: “not in my region.” He encouraged me to move laterally out

15 of his region. I knew from my past experience that there were not different promotable lists by

16 region. Rather, the promotable list was company-wide and was maintained on a wall in the

17 Home Office. It was plain to me that Mr. Dillehea was not willing to consider my promotability

18 based on the merits and that he was willing to lie to ensure that his candidates got preferential

19 treatment.

20 25. Within weeks of my March 9, 1999 conversation with Mr. Dillehea, two male assistant

21 managers in the Lexington, Kentucky store (William Cotton and Tony Bryant) were offered

22 promotions and/or allowed to promote out of the store, despite RVP Dillehea’s alleged six-month

23 prohibition on any moves.

24 26. On March 24, 1999, I telephoned Divisional Vice President Leroy Schuetts to complain about

25 the inequitable treatment that I had received. I specifically told him that I felt that I had been the

26 subject of discrimination. He asked me to write a letter explaining my concerns. Attached

27 8 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 1 hereto as Exhibit F is a true and correct copy of the letter that I faxed to Mr. Schuetts. I met with

2 Mr. Schuetts and Mr. Dillahea on April 12, 1999. That meeting took place face to face because,

3 after reading my letter, Leroy Schuetts said that my story did not match the one that Mr. Dillahea

4 was telling and he wanted to get us both together. At the meeting, RVP Dillahea made it clear

5 that, while I was welcome to stay in the region, he would not promote me. Mr. Schuetts asked

6 me to move temporarily to Raleigh Durham, North Carolina (outside of Mr. Dillahea’s region) to

7 once again clean up a group of troubled stores there. Recognizing I had no future under RVP

8 Dillehea, I once again acquiesced to the move. I stayed five weeks in a hotel while working

9 without days off to complete a remodel on the store. I had planned to attend my 10-year high

10 school reunion and had paid for reservations and a plane ticket for the event. I could not attend

11 because of the assignment in North Carolina.

12 27. I was then assigned as a co-manager to a supercenter in Virginia Beach, Virginia which

13 Schuetts told me was “the best store in the division.” He told me that every co-manager in that

14 store had been promoted within six months. After the first of the year, Divisional Vice President

15 Leroy Schuetts told me that he would call me and tell me which store to post for: “sit tight and

16 we’ll find you the right fit.”

17 28. In January 2000, Schuetts called and told me to post for a store in South Boston, VA. I

18 understood by the RPM Josh Ramsey that it was a “difficult ethnic store” but I went ahead and

19 posted. At approximately the same time, I learned of a store manager opening at a store only two

20 miles from the Virginia Beach store (Store 1688). While the store had also had some problems,

21 I felt that I had a good chance of obtaining this store because I was known to and respected by

22 both my District Manager Chad Madison and the Regional Vice President Dave Norman. I

23 applied on MCS for the position in Virginia Beach.

24 29. I once again received an “exceeds expectations” ranking on my February 2000 evaluation. I had

25 become, however, extremely frustrated with the continuously shifting requirements and obstacles

26 to my promotion. For so many years, I had done whatever Wal-Mart asked of me without

27 9 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 1 complaint – whether it be to work 80 hours a week or months without a day off. I finally began

2 speaking up for myself to senior management and objecting to the unfair treatment that I

3 received. My store manager and district manager criticized me for being “too impatient” and

4 “too emotional.” I feel that, had I been a man, I would have been seen as aggressive and hard-

5 driving. Instead, the expectation that was communicated to me was that I should sit quietly, be

6 patient and not question even if the most egregiously discriminatory treatment.

7 30. On March 15, 2000, Regional Vice President Norman called to tell me that I had not been

8 selected for the Store 1688 position in Virginia Beach. He told me that, while I was “more

9 qualified” than the male who was selected for the position, the employees in the store wanted

10 this individual who was a current co-manager there. It is unheard of at Wal-Mart that the

11 employees in a poorly performing store would be allowed to select their manager. Since the

12 employees in that store had never met me, I had no chance to compete for their endorsement. I

13 responded: “so, I lost the popularity contest?” I told Mr. Norman that I had been waiting for four

14 years for a store manager position and I would no longer do what was the easy thing for Wal-

15 Mart. I would no longer pick up and move to yet another troubled store based on some vague

16 promise of future advancement. At that point, I concluded that I would never receive fair

17 treatment at Wal-Mart nor could I expect to advance further.

18 31. Shortly thereafter, I accepted a position as the District Manager of Shoes and Jewelry in

19 Indianapolis. Based on observation and knowledge, this position is held almost exclusively by

20 women. My salary was $55,000, far less than I would have made as a store manager. Moreover,

21 the Shoes and Jewelry DM position was subject to a salary cap while there was no such limit for

22 store manager compensation. I held that position until recently, when I decided that I wanted to

23 go become a school teacher. I am now back in school full-time and work as an hourly employee

24 for Wal-Mart in Store 1141 as a training coordinator.

25 32. I have never been involved in a lawsuit before. I decided to become a witness in this case after I

26 heard Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott give a speech shortly after this lawsuit was filed. He claimed

27 10 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 1 that the “Open Door” policy could handle any discrimination problems at Wal-Mart. I honestly

2 did not understand how Mr. Scott could stand in front of us and make this statement that he

3 surely knew was untrue. Based on my own experience, I disagreed with Mr. Scott. As my

4 declaration makes clear, I had used the open door many times, but I was unable to get a

5 promotion to store manager.

6 33. As an assistant manager and co-manager, I worked with other store management to identify

7 candidates for the Management in Training program. In deciding which individuals to

8 recommend, we always discussed whether the candidate was “relocatable.” If they were not

9 relocatable, they would not be recommended for the training program.

10 34. As an Assistant Manager, I was frequently moved from one store to another on short notice. It

11 took very little time to assimilate into the new store because every Wal-Mart store operates with

12 the same set of policies, equipment, staff and procedures.

13 35. During my career, I worked in both Division 1 stores and supercenters. The difference between

14 them is that the supercenters have additional departments for grocery, dairy, bakery and meat,

15 which are not in Division 1 stores. However, I was trained to use the same Wal-Mart personnel

16 policies and practices in the supercenters, whether hiring, promoting or disciplining employees,

17 as were used in the Division 1 stores. The responsibilities of Assistant Managers in both stores

18 are the same. Since 1996, the company has made a conscious and concerted effort to eliminate

19 any organizational differences between Division 1 stores and supercenters. Management level

20 employees regularly transfer between them and local districts include both kinds of stores.

21 Finally, there was one Wal-Mart culture that we consistently taught to associates, regardless of

22 the kind of store that they worked in. I declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of Indiana that the foregoing is 23

24 true and correct. Executed this __ day of March, 2003 in McCordsville, Indiana.

26 ______Anna Stumpf 27 11 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

27 12 STUMPF DECLARATION RE: PLAINTIFFS’ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJ 28 MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION