Walmart is poised to pay millions of dollars to thousands of former and current employees after it agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming the company denied health insurance to same-sex spouses.
The retail giant, which denies the claims, OK'd the $7.5 million settlement, which would resolve a 2015 class action lawsuit brought by a former employee. The settlement, which awaits court approval, was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
The proposed settlement says the $7.5 million would cover claims of those employees who weren't able to obtain coverage for their same-sex spouse from 2011 to 2013. The company said the settlement includes "no more than a few thousand current and former Walmart associates."
Massachusetts woman Jacqueline A. Cote filed the lawsuit after she was repeatedly denied coverage for her wife.
Court documents said Walmart's insurance policy previously limited eligibility to spouses of the opposite sex until 2014, when it changed its policy to include same-sex spouses. In 2015, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled Walmart discriminated against Cote because of her sex.
Cote's lawsuit claimed Walmart violated the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act and the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Law.
In the proposed settlement, Walmart denies all the allegations brought forth in the lawsuit, but chose to settle, "in the interest of resolving this dispute between the parties without the significant expense, delay and inconvenience of further litigation."
The $7.5 million, according to the settlement, will first cover legal expenses then be divvied up among the employees involved in the suit. The settlement, court documents said, could cover all of a member's claims. It's estimated most have "potential damages ranging from hundreds of dollars to $15,000 for the value of the health insurance benefits that they were denied."
In addition to the payout, Walmart agrees "that in the future it will continue to treat same-sex and opposite-sex spouses equally in the provision of health insurance benefits."
The two sides issued a joint news release Friday. Sally Welborn, senior vice president of global benefits for Walmart, said the company is happy the case is resolved.
"Respect for the individual, diversity and inclusion are among the core values that made Walmart into the company that it is today," she said. "We will continue to not distinguish between same and opposite-sex spouses when it comes to the benefits we offer under our health insurance plan.”
Cote said she was pleased Walmart could settle the issue for her and other Walmart employees.
"It’s a relief to bring this chapter of my life to a close," she said.
