Project Proposal

Walmart has nearly twelve thousand stores and Sam’s Clubs in over twenty-eight countries. Walmart is one of the world’s biggest businesses by revenue, admitted by Fortune Global five hundred list this year, along with being the biggest private employer in the entire world, employing over two million. Walmart is also known as a family owned business. (Wikipedia, 2016)

In Little Rock Arkansas, in the early part of two thousand nine, Walmart was part of a court case, which involved several African American truck drivers accusing Walmart of racial discrimination when recruiting or hiring for over the road truck drivers. However, Walmart denied any and all claims of racial discrimination. (Associated Press, 2009)

Discrimination is defined to be the practice of unfairly treating an individual or group of individuals differently from other individuals or groups of individuals (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Racial discrimination involves the treating of a person negatively due to his or her particular race or due to personal traits, such as; hair texture, skin color or even facial characteristics. Racial discrimination can cause negative issues for the company in question, such as financially through fines, court cost and settlements. In the case of Walmart, they were hit with a settlement fee and court costs.

Walmart’s employees, who may have been current truck drivers, along with in store employees may have been impacted through this court case by the way of monetary means, such as; legal consequences, the reduction of productivity, penalties, employee morale and shipments of needed stock for the stores by lack of enough truck drivers to deliver the retail stock. (Tomlinson, 2016)

Under the, “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” if discrimination goes unaddressed or not looked into properly by the upper management or other company officials, they will be assessed fines and face prosecution. Legal aspects could include, litigation expenses that the company has to pay their attorneys to defend them, and if the company if found guilty of discrimination, they will have to pay attorney fees, fines, expert witness fees and compensation along with any punitive damages. (Rose, 1997-2016)

Walmart may have to insure that the discriminated against party, per the courts, could receive back pay, hiring, a promotion, reinstatement, front pay, reasonable accommodations, or even any other actions that will make the individual “whole.” The company will also be required to place notices to the employees addressing the violations, along with the particular charges and the rights of the employees (eeoc.gov).

References

Rose, A. (1997-2016). Demand Media: Consequences of Discrimination in the Workplace.