Walmart Inc. has agreed to pay $20 million to settle discrimination claims by two women turned down for grocery warehouse jobs that required them to be able to lift up to 80 pounds, according to documents filed Monday in a Kentucky federal court.
U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell of the Eastern District of Kentucky must approve the settlement.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's complaint claimed the Bentonville-based retailer illegally used a physical abilities test that negatively affected female applicants for grocery order filler positions.
The complaint and the joint consent decree were filed on the same day, according to the case docket. In the consent decree, both parties expressed a "desire to settle this action amicably."
Besides the two complainants, about 12,000 women across Walmart's U.S. distribution centers could qualify for compensation under the agreement, an EEOC attorney told the Lexington-Herald Leader.
Walmart said Thursday that the company does not tolerate discrimination and is a "great place" for women to work.
"We introduced the Physical Abilities Test in 2010 based in part on the recommendation of the EEOC," Walmart said in a statement. "The test was created and validated by third-party experts and designed to determine if applicants for the order filler position could perform the job requirements."
The retailer said it doesn't believe the test is discriminatory but has decided to discontinue it. This "is consistent with the company's efforts to accelerate and streamline the hiring process across the business," Walmart said.