Walmart owes $20M for pervasive hiring discrimination

A retail giant had been using a discriminatory hiring test in stores across the country, and the EEOC put a stop to it.

According to a recent lawsuit, Walmart required order filler job applicants to take a physical ability test (PAT). However, this test disproportionately excluded female candidates, who typically cannot lift as much as male applicants, the EEOC said.

Unnecessary test

 This PAT violated the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex. Employers can only use tests like the PAT if it measures skills necessary to successfully complete job duties, and Walmart couldn’t prove it did.

Walmart settled the suit and will pay $20 million to the female candidates who were rejected. It also must stop using the PAT as a pre-employment requirement immediately.