September 9, 2002
A federal judge in Atlanta has granted class-action status to a lawsuit filed by a 23-year-old Wal-Mart employee who was denied insurance coverage for birth control prescriptions.
Lisa Smith Mauldin was a customer service manager for the Wal-Mart store in Hiram, GA. She enrolled in the company's health care plan in February 2000 only to learn that the plan did not cover her $32-per-month prescription contraceptives. The suit charges that Wal-Mart's health plan unlawfully discriminates against women, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes ruled that all women working for Wal-Mart after March 2001 who were using prescription contraceptives can join the suit and pursue claims against the company. Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, has about 1 million employees, 800,000 of them women.
"It's a major victory for the working women of America," said Atlanta attorney George Stein, who represents Mauldin. Stein said many Wal-Mart employees must "pinch their pennies to make ends meet."
Stein said that by denying coverage for birth control, Wal-Mart saves about $5 million per month in health insurance costs.
The suit asks Judge Carnes to declare the Wal-Mart health plan illegal and to order reimbursement of the costs incurred by Mauldin and other women who had to purchase their own prescription contraceptives.
In a similar case, a former CVS Pharmacy employee in George is seeking to pursue a class-action suit. Since Amanda Mewborn filed her suit in January, CVS has added coverage of prescription contraceptives. Mewborn notes that, prior to the change, the CVS plan covered Viagra for male employees but did not cover contraceptive prescriptions for women.
Both Wal-Mart and CVS denied that their plans discriminate against women.
