The U.S. Supreme Court this morning ruled that Wal-Mart will not face a class-action gender discrimination lawsuit on behalf of all its female employees. The decision, according to reports, will probably limit the scope of class-action lawsuits going forward.
The lawsuit was originally filed a decade ago and has been, at least sporadically, one of the most-watched discrimination cases in the country. According to Bloomberg News, “The justices said the lawyers pressing the case failed to point to a common corporate policy that led to gender discrimination against workers at thousands of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores across the country.”
According to legal observers, the decision is a major legal win for Wal-Mart in that it limits the size of the litigation against the company. Without class-action status, presumably alleged discrimination cases will be pursued by individuals or smaller groups with less resources.
The lawsuit was originally filed a decade ago and has been, at least sporadically, one of the most-watched discrimination cases in the country. According to Bloomberg News, “The justices said the lawyers pressing the case failed to point to a common corporate policy that led to gender discrimination against workers at thousands of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores across the country.”
According to legal observers, the decision is a major legal win for Wal-Mart in that it limits the size of the litigation against the company. Without class-action status, presumably alleged discrimination cases will be pursued by individuals or smaller groups with less resources.