Thaindian News

By Meena Kar
Aug 26, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has asked the Supreme court of America to block its female employees from suing on behalf of the 1.5 million women which would see them face the largest gender bias suit against a private firm in US in legal history. The world’s largest retailer has appealed the 6-5 lower court decision saying that the workers in question were too diverse to be filed under one single case. The lower court had ruled that all the women working with the retail giant since 2001 can be a part of the single class action lawsuit. The lawsuit could force Wal-Mart to pay billions of dollars in back pay.

The attorney for the workers has argued that the class that has been upheld for the lawsuit is well within the mainstream and has been recognized by the court for decades. He added that only the size of the case is unusual which is a reflection of the magnitude of the discrimination and Wal-Mart’s size. The retailing giant has been sued for paying the women employees lesser than their male counterparts for the same work and also giving them fewer promotions. The case was filed in 2001 by 6 women that included Betty Dukes.

The company has said in a statement that Wal-Mart is an excellent place for women to work and the managers take the decision regarding the salaries and promotions at the store level. The company had agreed to pay as much as $640 million for the settlement of 63 federal and state class actions that claimed that the company cheated work hours and forced the employees to work through the breaks.