Court strikes blow to Wal-Mart
Apr 28 2010
Retail Wrap >>

In a major blow to Wal-Mart Stores Inc, a discrimination lawsuit against the retailer can proceed as a class-action case covering more than 1 million female employees, a U.S. court ruled on Monday. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, had asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to undo class-action certification in what could be the largest sexual discrimination lawsuit in the nation's history.

The lawsuit argues that female workers were paid less and received fewer promotions at Wal-Mart than male counterparts, and that the retailer's corporate structure fostered this gender discrimination.

Paul Secunda, an associate professor of law at Marquette University Law School, said "Wal-Mart has potentially huge liability. Given the number of employees involved and many years of pay at issue "the amount of liability can be many billions of dollars."

The class action will now cover the claims made by women who have worked at Wal-Mart since June 2001, when the lawsuit was filed. Wal-Mart had argued that it would be too unwieldy to bring the case forward as a class action - a premise the appeals court dismissed.

The plaintiffs had been seeking an undetermined amount in lost pay and punitive damages, together with injunctive and declaratory relief, which would require Wal-Mart to rectify the pay and promotion inequities.

Wal-Mart also has argued that establishing a national class was unwarranted because its store managers acted with discretion when promoting workers.

Wal-Mart's shares slid 0.6 percent to $54.20 in afternoon trading.

Adapted from Source: www.cnbc.com, 26 April 2010