AKW Law Secures $23 Million Verdict Against Walmart for Retaliation of Employee Who Reported Sexual Harassment

L to R: Attorney Rolf Gardner Toren, Plaintiff Andrea Garcia, Managing Partner Ada Smoke, Senior Paralegal Tara Peterson

AKW Law is proud to announce that on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, a unanimous jury of 12 rendered a verdict of $23 Million in favor of our client, Andrea Garcia, in a Title VII retaliation case. The case is Garcia v. Walmart, Case No. 1:23-cv-03116-MKD, in Eastern District of Washington (Yakima).

We were advised this may be in the top 3 employment law verdicts in Washington state.

Andrea Garcia, an overnight Walmart associate and mother of eight, reported sexual harassment to her direct supervisor, Assistant Manager Kristina Escobar, after learning that a male coworker was groping and physically touching two female co-workers. Instead of fulfilling her mandatory obligation to report the complaint to Corporate Ethics, Escobar dismissed it — telling Garcia she didn't believe it was happening — and did nothing. When Garcia saw the harasser remain on the schedule alongside his victim, she went above Escobar and reported the harassment directly to Corporate Ethics herself. Garcia also reported Escobar's failure to report, instead responding with "He doesn't seem like the type" and that Escobar never witnessed the harassment herself.

Ethics investigated and substantiated the sexual harassment, later firing the harasser. During that investigation, Escobar lied to the Ethics investigator, claiming she had properly reported the matter up the chain when she had not. Just seven days after walking Garcia to her own Ethics interview on May 9th, Escobar fired Garcia — citing five attendance points — ignoring Garcia's last half-point dispute that brought her to the five points was actually authorized and should have not incurred any points, and without applying the same policy (firing) to other employees with worse attendance records.

Walmart's response to Garcia's termination was a top-down failure and cover-up. Garcia made Open Door reports to Corporate Ethics, HR, and the Store Manager — all of them chose to not open an investigation, took no notes, and took no action. Escobar changed her story in litigation about who she reported the harassment to, and the Store Manager aligned her account with Escobar's shifting narrative. Ethics closed Garcia's retaliation complaint without even opening an investigation. The company's own Global Ethics Investigator's notes were later disavowed by Walmart to protect the cover-up. Meanwhile, employees with 6, 8.5, and 12.5 attendance points kept their jobs.

At trial, Garcia brought claims under Title VII retaliation, seeking emotional distress damages and punitive damages.

The trial team was Managing Partner Ada Smoke, Attorney Rolf Gardner Toren, and Senior Paralegal Tara Peterson.