Nations largest class action lawsuit certified against Wal-Mart

As many as 1.6 million current and former female employees of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may be represented by the class action lawsuit that was certified by a federal judge for sex discrimination.

June 23, 2004 -- As many as 1.6 million current and former female employees of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may be represented by the class action lawsuit that was certified by a federal judge for sex discrimination. The largest private civil rights case in U.S. history, the suit alleges Wal-Mart created a system that pays its female workers less than males in comparable jobs, as well as passing women for key promotions on a frequent basis.

The U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins took nine months before deciding if the class action lawsuit should be expanded to include all women who work or have worked at Wal-Marts 3,500 stores nationwide since 1998. Three years prior, when the lawsuit was first filed, Wal-Mart tried to limit the parameters of the ruling. In September, Wal-Mart company attorneys claimed Wal-Mart stores operate with so much autonomy that mini-class action lawsuit s targeting each outlet would be more appropriate.

Jenkins ruling was based on the 1964 congressional act passed during the civil rights movement that prohibits sex discrimination. The Judge also believed the plaintiffs presented sufficient anecdotal evidence warranting a class-action trial. The ruling could allow for the lawyer s representing the women included in the class action lawsuit to pursue punitive damages, back pay, and other compensation.    

So far, the Wal-Mart case has already generated 1.25 million pages of evidence and 200 sworn depositions. Wal-Mart plans on appealing the ruling, and no trial date has been set. Wal-Mart is the nations largest private employer.