United States: Sex discrimination suit against rent-a-center

Off Our Backs, Jan/Feb 2002 by Elliot, Farar, Douglas, Carol Anne, Kulla, Bridget, Maclay, Amanda, Et al

On January 7th a U.S. district court judge allowed 4,800 female employees of Rent-A-Center, Inc. to pursue a class action suit for sexual discrimination claims against the firm. The Texas-based company is the largest rental store chain in the nation. Testimony provided as part of the legal action against the company has found J. Ernest Talley, the chairmen and chief executive officer of Rent-A-- Center, to have openly demanded an anti-female employment policy. A federal investigation revealed that 98 percent of the company's employees were male.

Talley has allegedly made remarks including, "A woman's place is not in my stores"; and "Get rid of women any way you can." The company denies the allegations of discrimination. The female employees are seeking $410 million in damages.

-info from womensenews.com