After nearly a decade of pre-trial wrangling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled today in a 137-page decision that hundreds of thousands of female Wal-Mart current and former employees who have worked at Wal-Mart stores at any time since June 2001 are entitled to proceed with a massive class action lawsuit charging sex discrimination by America’s largest retailer.
The case (Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.), which Davis, Cowell & Bowe and other co-counsel has been litigating for 10 years, alleges systematic discrimination against women in compensation and promotions at Wal-Mart and its subsidiary, Sam’s Club, throughout the United States. It is the largest civil rights class action in history.
In announcing the decision today, a majority of the judges, who heard the case, found that it was a proper class action for female employees who have worked at Wal-Mart since the suit was filed in June 8, 2001. The class can seek lost pay and injunctive relief. It sent the case back to the lower court to determine whether women who were employed prior to that date may be part of the class and whether the class can seek punitive damages.
For more information on this law, please go to www.walmartclass.com.
