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Supreme
Court to Decide if Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart To Enjoy
Class-Action Status The
Supreme Court will decide whether a small group of women
who claim to have been discriminated against by Wal-Mart
can represent a huge nationwide class that may include
millions of current and former employees.
The justices will hear arguments in
the case of Wal-Mart Stores Inc v. Betty Dukes. Ms.
Dukes and several other women have alleged that Wal-Mart
has discriminated against them by paying women less and
giving them fewer promotions than men at 3,400 U.S.
stores. The case is actually 10 years old however it has
not gone to trial because a federal judge in San
Francisco granted class action status for the lawsuit.
Wal-Mart appealed this action and lost at the appellate
level.
If Wal-Mart were to lose at the highest court then it
could face a huge nationwide action by a class of
current and former employees that could total millions
of women. If it were to lose at trial then Wal-mart
could potentially be on the hook for billions of
dollars. If Wal-Mart wins and class-action status is
denied then each plaintiff would have to sue Wal-Mart
separately. Experts agree that the outcome of the case
could change the legal landscape for workplace and other
class-action lawsuits, affecting many other cases,
including a similar one against Costco.
Whether or not Wal-Mart management is liable for the sex
discrimination claims that are the center of the initial
lawsuits will not be an issue before the Supreme Court.
Some of the allegations included in the initial lawsuit
include:
- A claim by an employee that a
male manager "told her to 'doll up,' wear some
makeup and to dress a little better." She said he
frequently yelled and screamed at her and other
female employees, but seldom did that with male
employees.
- That Wal-Mart tolerated managers
who regularly went to strip clubs when attending
company management meetings.
- That a Wal-Mart senior human
resources official saw nothing wrong with business
meetings taking place at a Hooters restaurants.
The only issue that the high court
will rule on is whether the lower courts erred in
granting class-action status to the case. However, its
ruling may determine the future of the case as large
class-action lawsuits make it easier for big groups of
plaintiffs to sue corporations and they have led to huge
payouts by tobacco, oil and food companies.
Plaintiffs believe that without the
class-action status they have no hope of relief in court
since the company is simply too big and powerful for
them to sue. "A class action gives us a fair shot. That
is all we ask for," said one of the plaintiffs.
Should Wal-Mart be forced to defend
itself against a class-action suit then it could allow
millions of other current and former female employees to
bring forward claims as part of the one lawsuit.
For its part Wal-Mart insists that corporate policy
forbids discrimination and encourages diversity and fair
treatment to all employees regardless of gender. The
retailer employs more than 1.4 million people in the
United States and is the nation's largest private
employer. Wal-Mart had about $419 billion in net sales
in 2010 and reported $16.4 billion in net income.
Published:
March 2011 |
