WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc will urge the Supreme Court next week to reject the largest class-action sex-discrimination lawsuit in history, brought by female employees who seek billion of dollars.
The top U.S. court hears arguments on March 29 in a lawsuit against the world’s largest retailer for allegedly giving women less pay and fewer promotions at 3,400 U.S. stores since late 1998.
Lawyers for the two sides will spar over whether the small group of women who began the lawsuit 10 years ago can represent a huge nationwide class of current and former employees that could total millions of women.
The case has pitted women’s and employees’ rights against business interests, with Robin Conrad of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce calling it “the most important class-action case facing the court in over a decade.”
The case will have far-reaching implications for working women who challenge discrimination, women’s rights advocate Marcia Greenberger of the National Women’s Law Center said.
“The ability of women to be treated fairly in the workplace hangs in the balance,” Greenberger said.
The ruling, expected by late June, could change the legal landscape for workplace class-action lawsuits and affect many cases, including a similar one against Costco Wholesale Corp.
Large class-action lawsuits
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