WestRock Company Accused of Discriminating Against Female Workers

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WestRock Company is the defendant in a proposed class action filed by a woman who formerly worked for the company and claims she was discriminated against based on her gender. The plaintiff says she was the only female forester employed at WestRock’s Covington Mill region and was routinely denied opportunities to advance her position and compensation in favor of male peers who she claims were less qualified. Despite holding two masters degrees and having 40 years of industry experience, the plaintiff says her salary was only increased by one pay grade throughout her nine years of employment with the defendant. According to the suit, she was denied a total of 14 positions for which she was allegedly qualified that were awarded to male applicants and was only given the opportunity to apply for eight of them.

Even further, the plaintiff claims she was laid off in retaliation for complaining about the defendant’s alleged conduct. She argues that she and several men were promoted to lead forester positions at the same time, but that she was the only individual in the group who was not assigned direct reports. According to the complaint, the defendant was preparing to eliminate her position and terminated her in November 2015.

After her termination, the plaintiff was allegedly denied another position with the company that remained posted for months after her rejection. She believes the job was awarded to a male applicant who rejected the offer and that the posting was only removed once she filed an EEOC charge against the company.