Although the Supreme Court in June ruled against plaintiffs who sued Wal-Mart for sex-based employment discrimination, those plaintiffs today filed an amended lawsuit narrowing the class from all of the women who work or have worked at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores (an estimated 1.5 million), to those in the retailer’s California regions (an estimated 45,000 current employees and 45,000 former employees).
In its June decision, which split 5-4, the Supreme Court did not decide whether or not Wal-Mart had discriminated, but rather held only that the plaintiffs had failed to meet the requirement that the class have a question of law or fact in common.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys plan to file many similar suits against the giant corporation, alleging long-standing, widespread discrimination against Wal-Mart’s female employees in pay and advancement.
