25 November 2015, 19:06 UTC-07 Tango 01 (05 Azar 1394/13 Safar 1437/15 Ding-Hai 10th month 4713)

Here in Chubbuck, Idaho, the local Walmart has quietly settled discrimination lawsuits over the years, mostly about work environment connected to ethnic and religious discrimination.

Chubbuck, Idaho, Walmart

According to the U.S. Census Bureau the overwhelming majority of eastern Idahoans surveyed claim to be Mormons.  I’ve had problems maintaining steady employment here since 2006 (I moved here in 1996).  One day, around 2002, I was told by Jack-Mormon co-workers at the Pine Ridge Mall “You have no right to say anything bad about the Mormon Church”, even though they were constantly ‘bad mouthing’ the very same ‘Mormon Church’ they refused to attend!   That was when the mall was still under the original ownership of J. Price Realty.

For a short time in 2004 I worked at the Mormon owned Don Aslett’s Cleaning Center warehouse and was constantly asked about “Why don’t we see you at Ward?”  (for those who are not Mormon and never dealt with Mormons, Ward is their term for Church). Once I told them I wasn’t Mormon they literally cut my work schedual down to zero hours saying “we just don’t have the work to keep you busy”, but as the female Mormon manager was telling me this I could clearly see at least three new employees in loading dock area.

One of the current local former front line managers now suing Walmart told me he believed that non-white and non-mormon low level managers were being used as the old fashioned British empire whipping boys (Whipping boys were established in the English court during the monarchies of the 16th and 17th centuries).  In other words, all problems in the store were not only dumped on them but were also blamed on them.  He told me this before the lawsuit was filed.

But don’t take my word for these claims;  the Wal-Mart Litigation Project has documented at least 99 court judgements (final judgements in cases where the retailer did not settle out of court) against the retailer, but, according to Walmart defender Forbes the retailer is hit with an average of 5-thousand lawsuits every year!  That’s a lot of cases Walmart is settling out of court.

2015:  “The three plaintiffs all worked at Wal-Mart’s Chubbuck store. They allege that they were either fired or forced to quit due to the conduct of defendant Robert Pearson. Their complaint contains six counts against defendants Wal-Mart and Robert Pearson: (1) Race Discrimination; (2) Hostile Work Environment; (3) Retaliation; (4) Family Medical Leave Act Violation; (5) Wrongful Termination; and (6) Americans With Disabilities Act violation.”  In this case attorneys are citing examples involving the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons).

2014:  “Alleging racial and disability discrimination, violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act, retaliation and a hostile work environment, three former assistant managers at the Chubbuck Wal-Mart store have filed suit against the company and the store’s manager.