Why You Might Be Entitled to a Settlement from Walmart


In 2015, a woman named Jacqueline Cote filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart, alleging that their health insurance policies violated laws concerning same-sex couples. Although Wal-Mart initially denied any wrongdoing, they have since decided to settle the case. With an agreed upon settlement of $7.5 million, it's now up to those who were potentially affected by Wal-Mart's policy to lay claim to their reimbursement. In fact, if you worked for either Wal-Mart or Sam's Club for the two year period between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2013, and you were married to someone of the same gender during that time period, then you're entitled to as much as $15,000 in reimbursements.

Why is Wal-Mart Settling?

During the period between 2011 and 2013, Wal-Mart was legally required to offer family health insurance for same-sex couples, and yet it failed to do so. Although they did not admit to any wrongdoing at the time of Jacqueline Cote's suit, they have since agreed to the settlement.

Wal-Mart's policies have been changed since January 1, 2014, but these obligations still applied to the company before then. Since Wal-Mart would prefer to avoid a lengthy trial process, they are hoping that by offering a settlement, anyone who was wronged by them can claim a reimbursement and move on. For those who this might apply to, there are a few legal steps to consider. In order to qualify for a part of the settlement, you must either go through a long-form or short-form filing process, which will also depend on the specific circumstances of your claim.

Filing a Long-Form Claim

A long-form lawsuit claim is necessary for anyone who had medical costs during the three year period when Wal-Mart did not offer family health insurance. If you want to be reimbursed for these costs, then you'll need to go through the long-form process and prove that not only were you married and employed during the three year period with Wal-Mart, but that you also have all of the receipts for your medical costs as well.

Filing a long-form claim can help you to reimburse many of your associated medical costs, but it requires considerably more effort to complete. Since you need to have the proper receipts for all of your medical costs, as well as any associated paperwork from your hospital stays, filing a long-form claim requires substantially more preparation on your part. Of course, this is also the best option for those who genuinely did have medical costs during the period and require greater reimbursement than the $15,000.

Filing a Short-Form Claim

For those who did not have any significant medical costs during the period, but still qualify for the reimbursement, a short-form claim is preferable. With a short-form claim, all you need to do is show that you qualify for the basic requirements of the settlement. In this case, all that would be required for up to $15,0000 is to show that you were married to someone of the same sex during the previously mentioned period, and that Wal-Mart did not offer you family health insurance when it should have.

Although the short-form claim does not offer as much as a long-form claim can, it makes up for this by being considerably more straightforward and less time-consuming. If you don't keep thorough records, then the short-form claim will likely be the ideal choice for you.

How to Begin the Filing Process

If you're interested in beginning either the long-form or short-form claims process, then you will need to make sure you have access to the proper forms. In order to do so, you'll need to contact the claims administrator here. While you can easily fill out the forms digitally, you can also choose to have them delivered to you if you'd like to fill them out in person. Either way, it's important that you act quickly, as there is a time limit on how long someone can qualify for a piece of the settlement. If you qualify for it, but miss your chance to file a claim, then you won't receive any part of the settlement. With that in mind, the sooner you act, the sooner you can get what's rightfully yours.