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Wal-Mart Stores9/16/1999
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
(The Department of Human Rights, Respondent).
JUSTICE INGLIS delivered the opinion of the court:
This is an action for direct administrative review of a decision of the Illinois Human Rights Commission (HRC). Respondent, Cynthia McQueary, filed a civil rights complaint against petitioner, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart), alleging that Wal-Mart had discharged her on the basis of her gender in violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act (Act) (775 ILCS 5/1--101 et seq. (West 1996)). Wal-Mart denied that it discriminated against her and argued that it discharged her for leaving work early. The administrative law Judge issued a recommended liability determination, and the HRC sustained the complaint, ordering Wal-Mart to reinstate McQueary and award her damages. We affirm.
McQueary worked for Wal-Mart as a night receiving associate from February 16, 1993, to June 25, 1995. During her employment with Wal-Mart, she received acceptable performance reviews and several merit pay increases. Her immediate supervisor was Scott Dierking, who reported to Paul Baird, the night shift manager. McQueary was the only female in the receiving area. She worked with 10 to 15 male employees. McQueary testified that the male employees would make derogatory remarks to her. She complained to a manager in March of 1995, but the behavior continued.
On June 22, 1995, Baird told McQueary and the other employees that a shipment of fans was to be unloaded and kept separate from other merchandise. McQueary tried to separate the fans according to her supervisor's instructions, but some of her male co-workers placed other merchandise on the fans' pallets. When she tried to stop them, they taunted her. One of her male co-workers, Israel Pena, laughed and told her to get back in the truck and called her a "little girl." This behavior made McQueary cry. Pena called her a "cry baby" and said, "We don't need that, bitch." After that, McQueary headed to the front of the store to leave work before the end of her shift.
McQueary told Baird that she was tired of the way she was being treated and explained that her male co-workers were mixing up the merchandise on the pallets. She told Baird that she was too upset to continue working that night and wished to go home. McQueary advised Baird that if the harassment did not stop she would have to consider giving her two-week notice. Baird then unlocked the door and walked McQueary to her car.
When McQueary returned to work on her next scheduled work night, Baird told her that she was terminated for leaving work without permission. McQueary's co-workers who had taunted her and mixed up the merchandise on her pallets were not disciplined in any way.
On July 3, 1994, McQueary filed a charge against Wal-Mart alleging discrimination on the basis of sex. Specifically, she alleged that her termination for leaving early was a pretext for sex discrimination. According to her, similarly situated male employees were subject to "progressive discipline" before termination and were not subject to termination for leaving their shift early. The administrative law Judge agreed with McQueary, and the HRC sustained McQueary's complaint, finding that Wal-Mart's articulated reason for terminating her was a pretext for sex discrimination because the evidence showed that it treated McQueary more severely than her male co-workers for similar misconduct and that there was no rational business reason for doing so. Wal-Mart timely appeals.
Before addressing the merits of the appeal, we note that the HRC contends that Wal-Mart's statement of facts are inaccurate and argume
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