Final answer:
Walmart responded to factory related lawsuits with settlements and policy changes. They paid back wages and damages for sex discrimination and ended a physical ability test that was found discriminatory. A large class-action sex-discrimination suit was dismissed, but smaller lawsuits continue.
Step-by-step explanation:
Walmart's response to various factory related lawsuits has included both financial settlements and changes to company policies. In 2013, the National Labor Relations Board found Walmart guilty of illegally penalizing and firing workers who participated in labor protests, leading to Walmart paying $11.7 million in back wages and compensation damages to women in Kentucky who were denied jobs based on their sex. Similarly, in 2020, Walmart faced a sex-based hiring discrimination lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over its physical ability test (PAT), which disproportionately affected female applicants. Walmart agreed to a consent decree to stop the PAT and established a $20 million settlement fund for affected women. Furthermore, in one of the largest class-action sex-discrimination cases, Walmart was accused of engaging in wage and promotion discrimination, affecting 1.2 million female employees. Although the Supreme Court threw out the case in 2011, female employees continued to pursue smaller lawsuits alleging biased decision-making by regional managers. Despite these efforts, a smaller California class action suit was rejected by a federal district court in 2013.