ORLANDO – A former personal shopper for a Walmart store in Winter Garden alleges she was discriminated against due to her race, retaliated against and eventually forced to quit.
Plaintiff Lakeisha A. Oliver, who is Black, filed her lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.
In her 11-page complaint, Oliver seeks more than $500,000 in damages against defendant Walmart Stores East LP.
After working for four years as a personal shopper, Oliver contends the store’s asset protection, or AP, personnel began closely following and surveilling her throughout the store and even on her breaks in 2021.
Walmart’s AP associates are tasked with maintaining the safety and security of store merchandise, customers and staff.
“This surveillance made Plaintiff feel uncomfortable to the point where she preferred to take her breaks in her car rather than in the breakroom,” her complaint states, adding that this pattern was not limited to her but extended to other Black associates and vendors.
Then, in 2022, the store hired Aymee Gonzalez as a “department coach.” Gonzalez is Puerto Rican, according to the filing.
Oliver requested Sundays off to attend church, citing her Christian faith and also her five-year tenure with the retailer. She also made sure to put in the request more than one month in advance, Oliver noted in her complaint.
Despite this, Gonzalez denied her request – but granted Sundays off to new Hispanic hires, Oliver alleges.
“Gonzalez provided Hispanic employees with greater flexibility in scheduling and work rules than she provided to non-Hispanic employees,” the complaint states.
“Non-African American associates received approved time-off requests for weeks at a time without being required to take a leave of absence.”
According to the complaint, Gonzalez also changed Oliver’s employment status from full-time to part-time without notifying her or obtaining her authorization. In addition, she allegedly added “excessive” attendance points to Oliver’s record.
“Points that had been removed from Plaintiff's record by a team lead reappeared after Gonzalez's intervention,” the filing states. “Plaintiff accumulated triple the normal points despite following proper call-out procedures and using Protected Paid Time Off (PPTO).
“Plaintiff had zero points on her record prior to her initial conversation with Gonzalez about time off.”
Hispanic employees, on the other hand, had negative points removed from their records by Gonzalez, Oliver contends.
She also alleges that other associates with shorter tenure and some Hispanic associates earned between $16 and $18 an hour, while she earned $14.57 an hour.
In October 2022, Oliver alleges she filed a complaint with Walmart’s ethics department regarding Gonzalez’s conduct.
Soon after, Gonzalez began cutting her hours and removed her from shifts that she picked up on the associate app, Oliver alleges.
In addition, after filing her ethics complaint, AP surveillance of her continued and “intensified,” Oliver contends.
“The disparate treatment Plaintiff experienced affected her financial stability and forced her to quit school in order to maintain her employment,” the complaint states.
Oliver seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, and attorney’s fees.
The Girley Law Firm PA in Orlando is representing Oliver in the suit.
