U.S. to Intervene in Suit Against Home Depot

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Monday that it has moved to intervene in a private sex-discrimination suit filed against do-it-yourself retailing giant Home Depot Inc.

The suit, which was filed in 1995 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, focuses on 310 stores east of the Mississippi. The EEOC said this is the largest private sex-discrimination case in which it has sought to intervene. The EEOC alleges that women were hired only at low-level positions with no opportunities for advancement.

Atlanta-based Home Depot said it will oppose the agency’s intervention, adding that the EEOC heard only one side of the story before deciding to intervene.

“The Home Depot will vigorously oppose intervention and is confident that it can demonstrate that intervention is not only futile, but a waste of government resources,” Larry Smith, Home Depot’s vice president for legal affairs, said in a statement.

C. Gregory Stewart, general counsel of the EEOC, alleged that “while Home Depot has a glass ceiling, Home Depot traps its female employees into what amounts to a glass basement with glass walls.”

He charged that women were hired for jobs such as cashier but were not hired or considered for promotion for other positions, such as sales or managerial positions.

Home Depot operates more than 460 stores in 35 states and employs about 95,000 people. Its stock rose 37.5 cents Monday to close at $57.875 on the New York Stock Exchange.