Wet Seal Company is being Sued
TUCHMAN: Fired from her job and she says it's because she is black. Nicole Cogdell said she worked at the trendy clothing store Wet Seal and that she was fired from her store at the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania because she did not fit an image. She joins me live from Philadelphia. Also with us on the phone is Brad Seligman, her lead counsel for the class action lawsuit against Wet Seal. I thank you both for being here. First off, Nicole, you said you did so well at one Wet Seal store you were promoted to the store of the King of Prussia Mall, very important store for Wet Seal. So, if that's the case, why do you think you were fired?</s>NICOLE COGDELL, CLAIMS SHE WAS FIRED BECAUSE OF HER RACE: Basically, I did very well at this Springfield store. I was promoted at King of Prussia. The vice president of the company came in and stated that's the store manager? She wanted someone with blond hair and blue eyes. Basically, nothing was wrong with my store. I did well with customer service. I had a very excellent team. And, later, I saw an e-mail that stated that African-Americans dominate and that it was a huge issue and under my name, I was not the right fit for the store. I was later --</s>TUCHMAN: Let me tell our viewers that is the big development in this case. It's not just your word according to this case. There was an e-mail, lawyers say, it was written by a vice president of Wet Seal. The e-mail was forwarded to Nicole and in it, we will show it to you. It says, quote "need diversity. African-American dominates. Huge issue." So my question for Brad, the attorney, is this a smoking gun or a company looking to diversify? Well, it's an astonishing e-mail to come from a major corporation in this country. And I should tell you I just got yesterday Wet Seal's formal answer in the case in which they admitted this e-mail was sent by a senior vice president of the company.</s>BRAD SELIGMAN, NICOLE COGDELL'S ATTORNEY (via telephone): The context is really important. The senior vice president, the vice president of stores and the president of the stores had been doing store visits and the message was given to store management around the country that they needed to make sure that there were not too many blacks on the floor, that they were concerned about the image the company and that image they wanted to project was more appealing to whites.</s>TUCHMAN: So, I know our viewers are wondering, OK, so what does Wet Seal say about this? We can sell you Wet Seal would not talk with CNN. But did issue this statement and it goes like this. "The Wet Seal is committed to equal opportunity employment and proud of the diversity of our work force including African-American employees. We do not discriminate on the base of race or any other category. We are confident that when all of the facts come out in this matter the public and our customers will see that African- Americans are well represented and valued members of our employee base including our management." But Nicole, you clearly feel differently, so much so, that you're asking for a federal judge to consider this a class action lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of current and former black managers at Wet Seal. Why do you feel this issue is much bigger than your case, Nicole?</s>COGDELL: This issue is much bigger than my case because it's not just me, no, it's Hawkins and Miriam and many African-Americans all across the country that work for this company and, basically, you know, we just didn't fit the brand image. If you look at that same e-mail, you'll see other problems in other stores. However, with my particular store, which was the King of Prussia store, the only problem was that I didn't fit the brand image. Our sales had increased. Our shrink was a lot better. I had an excellent team and that very same e-mail you'll see that the fixture package looked fantastic. Well, you know, employees had to ensure that the fixture package looked fantastic. And then, if you look in that same e-mail, you'll see that the granite run store was the most embarrassing store in the company.</s>TUCHMAN: Nicole, let me ask you one more question because this is important even a one word answer.</s>COGDELL: Sure.</s>TUCHMAN: If you had blond hair and blue eyes, do you think you would still be at Wet Seal?</s>COGDELL: If I was Caucasian with blond hair and blue eyes, I would be at Wet Seal and maybe even in a higher position in terms of management.</s>TUCHMAN: Nicole Cogdell and Brad Seligman, thank you very much for joining us. That e-mail could certainly be damming and you see the statement though, that Wet Seal say they have a story to tell and we will see that story probably eventually. Thank you to both of you. Well, Mitt Romney and President Obama both want your vote. But us "the Rolling Stone" song goes, "you can't always get what you want." So just, whose vote can make it?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK? Here, let me help you. My mom has been sick for as long as I can remember. You need more methadone. Helping her out is a bigger priority than going to school because I don't know what I would do if something happened to her. I wouldn't be able to really live.</s>CONNIE SISKOWSKI, CNN HERO: In the United States, there are at least 1.3 million children caring for someone who's ill or injured or elderly or disabled. They can become isolated, there are physical effects, the stresses of it, and the worry.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you baby, thank you so much.</s>SISKOWSKI: But these children suffer is silently, people don't know they exist. I'm Connie Siskowski. I am bringing this precious population into the light to transform their lives so they can stay in school. We offer each child a home visit. Has a ramp been comfortable? We looked at what we can provide to meet the need. We go into the school with a peer support group and we offer out of school activities that give the child a break.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is so relaxing.</s>SISKOWSKI: So they know they're not alone. We give them hope for their future.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now I'm getting as and Bs and I feel more confident.</s>SISKOWSKI: But we have a long way to go. There's so many more children that really need this help and support.