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''Mauldin v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'' was a sexual discrimination class action lawsuit filed on October 16, 2001, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, seeking back pay and an injunction. The suit challenged Wal-Mart's denial of health insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives. The case was granted class action status with an estimated 400,000 women eligible for participation in the lawsuit. In September 2006, Wal-Mart added prescription contraceptives to its health insurance coverage. In November 2006, the court ordered an investigation into whether illegal kickbacks were paid by Milberg Weiss to the lead plaintiff. The plaintiffs agreed to dismiss the case rather than permit discovery into the payments. ==Lawsuit== The lawsuit was filed by Lisa Smith Mauldin, a 23-year-old customer service manager at a Wal-Mart store in Hiram, Georgia.〔 〕 Mauldin, a divorced mother of two, was working for 32 hours per week at a rate of US$12.14 per hour and spending $30 a month on birth-control pills.〔 She had signed up for the company's health care plan in February 2000 only to learn that it did not cover her prescription contraceptives.〔 〕 Liza Featherstone of ''The Nation'' described this financial weight as "a significant burden for () (and certainly a prohibitive one for many fellow employees, who earn significantly lower wages)."〔 Mauldin sued Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., her employer, claiming that the defendant's health plan was in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because its provisions did not provide coverage for prescription contraceptives. Mauldin sought to amend Wal-Mart's health plan to include coverage for contraceptives and to receive reimbursement for the cost of contraceptives, pre-judgment interest, and attorneys' fees.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended October 31, 2005 )〕 Maudlin was represented by a legal team consisting of the law firm of Milberg Weiss as lead class counsel, George Stein as local counsel, Judy Applebaum of the National Women's Law Center, and the law firm of Heller, Horowitz & Feit.〔 On August 23, 2002, U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes granted the case class action status, allowing all women who had been covered by Wal-Mart's Associates Health and Welfare Plan since March 2001 and who had been using prescription contraceptives to join the lawsuit.〔〔 Attorney George Stein estimated the number of eligible women as 400,000.〔 〕 Wal-Mart requested that the court reconsider the granting of class action status but on September 30, 2003, the court denied its request without prejudice.〔 The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment, but the court did not rule on those motions. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mauldin v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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