Wal-Mart Objects to 1.6 million Women's Lawsuit

This, for the remaining folks who do not know about the largest sex discrimination case in America's history, exemplifies Corporate America's cruelty. Please leave a comment, Sandyo

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Wal-Mart Plaintiffs Face Historic Class Challenge
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By Susan V. Stromberg
WeNews correspondent
Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Over a million current and former Wal-Mart female employees allege
gender discrimination in a single lawsuit. In this news analysis,
Susan Stromberg explains what it will take for them to hang together
before the courts this summer.

(WOMENSENEWS)--More than one million current and former Wal-Mart
female employees alleging gender discrimination stand to be certified
this summer as the largest civil rights class action in history.

Their fate lies with the U.S. Supreme Court, which will be asked to
decide whether a small group of employees' claims of sex
discrimination are indicative of a company-wide policy or just
isolated incidents. If the High Court does not hear the case, a lower
court's ruling will stand and the trial against Wal-Mart will proceed
on behalf of the million-plus plaintiffs.

It's a case of enormous importance for women in the paid work force
across the country, says Fatima Goss Graves, vice president for
education and employment at the Washington-based National Women's Law
Center, one of the many organizations to file briefs in support of the
class-action certification.

"The conduct alleged in the Wal-Mart litigation highlights that
current law fails to provide adequate deterrence and sufficient tools
to address widespread pay discrimination in the workplace," said
Graves.





In a case nearly a decade old, six female Wal-Mart employees sought
certification to represent more than one million female employees in a
lawsuit alleging gender discrimination in violation of federal law.

The claim of these six women is supported by 120 documented incidents
from other female employees. In their suit, the six assert that they
were paid less than men in comparable positions, despite higher
performance ratings and greater seniority, and that they received
fewer--and waited longer for--promotions than men.

Ninth Circuit Decision

Following an April decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the
class will encompass all women employed by Wal-Mart at any time since
June 8, 2001, when the lawsuit was first filed, and may possibly date
back to December 26, 1998, pending clarification by the lower court.

The Ninth Circuit ruling certifying the class focused on whether the
accusations made by these six women would be common to all female
Wal-Mart employees, as is necessary for class certification.

Wal-Mart, headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., denies any systematic
discrimination and argues that any claims should be tried individually
and not as a class action. Among its arguments, Wal-Mart contends that
the range of employees within the class is too diverse. It says that
six women who have worked in 10 of the retailer's 3,400 stores
nationwide cannot represent every female employee from every
store--from part-time entry level hourly workers to salaried
managers--over the course of a decade.

Before those allegations can be considered on the merits fully, the
courts must first decide whether the million women represented by the
six plaintiffs can hang together now that Wal-Mart plans to petition
the Supreme Court for review.

The issue of class certification is governed by detailed and
complicated procedural rules that will determine whether the million
stay as part of the Wal-Mart case.

If the Supreme Court either decides not to hear the case or hears the
case and agrees with the class certification, the lawsuit will go back
to the lower court for a trial to determine if Wal-Mart discriminated
against its female employees.

However, if the Supreme Court accepts review and overturns the class
certification, each of the million possible plaintiffs would need to
file individual lawsuits to raise any claims of discrimination.

Wal-Mart Attorney Hopeful

Wal-Mart attorney Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., of the New York-based law
firm Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, is hoping the High Court will take the
case and undo the class certification.