Wal-Mart Watch: Rosa DeLauro calls for a Mother's Day boycott:

DeLauro, D-Conn., wants consumers to join with her in supporting a federal lawsuit that accuses the nation's largest retailer of discriminating against women. "When it comes to the treatment of its women employees, Wal-Mart's low prices come at a cost," she said at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. The lawsuit alleges that Wal-Mart's female employees earn less and are promoted less than their male counterparts. A federal judge in San Francisco last year ruled that there was enough evidence to grant class-action status to the lawsuit, filed on behalf of 1.6 million current and former employees of Wal-Mart's 3,401 stores, markets, centers and clubs. Women make up 72 percent of Wal-Mart's work force but account for only 33 percent of managers, the lawsuit claims. Women also earn 5 percent to 15 percent less than men working in the same jobs, the plaintiffs say. Representatives of the United Food and Commercial Workers, AFL-CIO, joined DeLauro in urging Americans to e-mail Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer Lee Scott a Mother's Day card asking him to lead an effort to resolve the issue. DeLauro also wants the company to turn over wage statistics for congressional review.