- Is Bill Gross, PIMCO's Bond King, Losing His Touch?
- Greece Austerity Deal Runs Into Trouble Once Again
- Why Greece Will Default, Leave Euro Zone
- Apple’s Record Run: $500 Is a Magic Number
- Private Homebuilders: Dead Men Walking
- Housing Still Hurting Consumers, Economy: Bernanke
- Get Ready for $5 Gas This Year: Ex-Shell CEO
- The World's Best Beers
- Diamond Investing: Why It's Not for the Faint of Heart
MOST SHARED
- Get Ready for $5 Gas This Year: Ex-Shell CEO
- US Hedge Fund Manager Charged with Insider Trading
- Anthony Scaramucci: S&P 500 Stocks Still Cheap
- LinkedIn’s Growth Is Already Priced In: Analyst
- The Real Reason Behind Bank of America’s Rally
- Investing in the Fountain of Youth
- Verizon, Coinstar Team Up to Take on Netflix
- We Are Well Positioned for 2012: CEO Alcatel Lucent
- Clint Eastwood ‘Surprised’ by Reaction to Chrysler's ‘Halftime in America’ Ad
- Is Bill Gross, PIMCO's Bond King, Losing His Touch?
MOST POPULAR
HOT ON FACEBOOK
Wal-Mart Gender Bias Suit Gets Go Ahead From Court
Text Size 
A sharply divided federal appeals court on Monday exposed Wal-Mart to billions of dollars in legal damages when it ruled a massive class action lawsuit alleging gender discrimination over pay for female workers can go to trial.
 |
Source: Walmart Wal-Mart will face charges that it pays women less than men for the same jobs. |
In its 6-5 ruling, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said the world's largest private employer will have to face charges that it pays women less than men for the same jobs and that female employees receive fewer promotions and have to wait longer for those promotions than male counterparts.
The retailer, based in Bentonville, Ark., has fiercely fought the lawsuit since it was first filed by six women in federal court in San Francisco in 2001, losing two previous rulings in the trial court and again in the appeals court in 2007.
Wal-Mart [WMT
Loading...
()
] successfully convinced the appeals court to revisit its 2007 ruling made by a three-judge panel with a larger 11-judge panel, arguing that women who allege discrimination should file individual lawsuits. The retailer argued that the number of litigants that the lawsuit purports to represent is too big to defend.
"Although the size of this class action is large, mere size does not render a case unmanageable," Judge Michael Daly Hawkins wrote for the majority court, which didn't address the merits of the lawsuit, leaving that for the trial court.
Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote a blistering dissent, joined by four of her colleagues.
"No court has ever certified a class like this one, until now. And with good reason," Ikuta wrote. "In this case, six women who have worked in thirteen of Wal-Mart represent every woman who has worked in those stores over the course of the last decade—a class estimated in 2001 to include more than 1.5 million women."
A Wal-Mart representative said the retailer was preparing a statement. Wal-Mart shares fell toward $54 in afternoon trading.
- Marketing clichés aside, sometimes diamonds are for investing.
- Actor Clint Eastwood responds to critics over the Chrysler Super Bowl ad and all the controversy.
- Attention, online shoppers. The days of tax-free online shopping may be coming to an end in many states.
- The ‘Fast Money’ traders weigh in on fashion related stocks from apparel to footwear to accessories and fragrances.
- Here’s a look at Westminster Kennel Club’s most successful breeds—and how much they cost.
- What kind of homes do celebrity couples share? Here’s our updated list. Take a look.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
