Wal-Mart Hit With Court Ruling On Discrimination, Costs Could Be Huge

The UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT made a ruling today that could cost Wal-Mart a lot of money in federal court and in the court of public opinion. It will allow about one million women who work for Wal-Mart today or have worked for the retailer since 1989 to join a class action suit claiming wage and promotion discrimination against the company. Bloomberg reports that “Potential plaintiffs exceed 1 million.”

In its ruling the court wrote:

Plaintiffs allege that Wal-Mart, Inc., discriminates against women in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After detailed briefing and hearing, the district court certified a class encompassing all women employed by Wal-Mart at any time after December 26, 1998, and encompassing all Plaintiffs’ claims for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and back pay, while creating a separate opt-out class encompassing the same employees for punitive damages. We affirm the district court’s certification of a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure class of current employees with respect to their claims for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and back pay. With respect to the claims for punitive damages, we remand so that the district court may consider whether to certify the class under Rule 23(b)(2) or (b)(3). We also remand with respect to the claims of putative class members who no longer worked for Wal-Mart when the complaint was filed so that the district court may consider whether to certify an additional class or classes under Rule 23(b)(3).

The suit will go back to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. That court will decide which of the plaintiffs can be included in the class action suit, or suits

The original action was filed against Wal-Mart in 2001. If the case goes against the company, the cost of restitution for over one million women would be huge. The court might even assess damages.

Wal-Mart now faces a long case, played out in front of the public and the press. It may want to find a way to pay off the plaintiffs and call it a day.

Douglas A. McIntyre