The Supreme Court put the brakes on a massive job discrimination lawsuit against mega-retailer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., saying sweeping class-action status that could potentially involve hundreds of thousands of current and former female workers was simply too large.
The ruling Monday was a big victory for the nation's largest private employer, and the business community at large.
The high-profile case– perhaps the most closely watched of the high court's term– is among the most important dealing with corporate versus worker rights that the justices have ever heard, and could eventually impact nearly every private employer, large and small.
Toobin: Why justices shut down Wal-Mart case
Gisel Ruiz, Executive Vice President for Wal-Mart U.S., said in a statement the company was "pleased" with the court's ruling.
"Walmart has had strong policies against discrimination for many years. The Court today unanimously rejected class certification and, as the majority made clear, the plaintiffs’ claims were worlds away from showing a companywide discriminatory pay and promotion policy," the statement said. "By reversing the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, the majority effectively ends this class action lawsuit.
“Walmart has a long history of providing advancement opportunities for our female associates and will continue its efforts to build a robust pipeline of future female leaders.”
The case is Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes (10-277).
To big to fail – retail edition. 🙂
I find it strange that Walmart being so large they are destroying all the smaller businesses around them yet they decide that the lawsuit is too large... That's capitalism.
And in a related story, copies of Sarah Palin's famous " crosshairs poster " are now on sale in Walmart gun, knife and ammo departments everywhere.
And also Palin for President Posters are going fast , don't delay buy before thay run out.
A GREAT REPUBLICAN...surely you jest
Walmart.... All the teabags and tin foil a Fox news watcher could ask for. At Bargain Prices woo hoo!!
Sounds like a cop-out to me. They are just being lazy. truely amazing and appalling.
Are hundreds of thousands of separate lawsuits better?
Will hundreds of thousands of separate lawsuits clog up the courts less?
Will hundreds of thousands of separate lawsuits cost the victims, themselves, less in legal fees?
Read the ruling and not your emotion. All the ruling states “Denys’ the lawsuit as a class action”, however it DOES not deny the individual to fill a lawsuit if wrong
Yeah all these individual women can afford attorney's on their Walmart salary's. Especially when this is nationwide discrimination.
What's funny is that they call this one off for being "too big" and yet, there's a lawsuit going after 50,000 people for downloading one crap movie and 30,000 for another crap movie. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will give up on those too. The movies didn't make money in the box office so they're taking a snake route to compensate for the money lost making CRAP.
The decision was UNANIMOUS - and the story is horrendously written. The issue is not about worker rights, it is about improper certification of a "class" who shared not discrimination, but only gender.
To all of the people saying individuals should file their own law suit..that's idiotic. Wal-Mart is a multi-billion dollar corporation with a legal team of unimaginable proportions. The common man or woman has no prayer when they walk into court. This class action suit leveled the playing field and these Justices have taken away that right. The American people deserve better. Congress and the President need to override SCOTUS and pass legislation to fix this latest injustice.
So does this mean that there will NEVER be any class action lawsuits against BIG companies? "You twenty people can sue that mom-and-pop store, but you 250,000 people cannot sue Walmart" What the what????
Wow.. thats hard hitting "Hmmmmm...". I killed so many people that they could not possibly satisfy all the cases against me so I need to be let go. Or lets say I hold so much stock in American Bonds that If I tank the economy tanks.. so give me a break so that I don't cash all my bonds in. Sounds like a game fit for the rich.
As long as we have people rushing to comment even without reading the full judgment, nothing is too big!
Most of these coments are by men on here....likewise they don't understand
Not all men think like neanderthals. Yet the neanderthals usually claim to be republicans.
Yes, many of us agree, WallyMart sucks. SO stop shopping there!! I haven't been inside a walmart in 14 years! It's easy, just don't go. You may get laundry soap a little cheaper here, but what is REALLY the price? Get it?
Good