Wal-Mart sex discrimination class action update

Findlaw (AP) reports: “Class Action Hearing Set for Wal-Mart”

Speak of the devil (I just ended my last post with a comment about Wal-Mart and women, not having yet run across this story).

“Of the thousands of lawsuits that target Wal-Mart Stores Inc., none worries the company more than the charge by six former employees that the country’s largest private employer discriminates against women” in pay and promotions.

“On Wednesday, a federal judge in San Francisco will hear lawyers argue for the suit to be elevated to a class action - a move that could add 1.5 million plaintiffs and make the lawsuit against the nation’s biggest retailer the largest of its kind.”

Some of the non-anectdotal evidence (there’s plenty of anectodal evidence, but to me that’s less persuasive when talking class action) includes:

“Only 14 percent of Wal-Mart store managers - the top job at local stores - are women. Overall, more than 50 percent of competitors’ managers are women but Wal-Mart is at about 35 percent, the plaintiffs claim.”

“Women in Wal-Mart’s management are paid less. Male store managers average a salary of $105,682 - 18 percent more than the $89,280 female managers average.”

“Wal-Mart has warned investors that the suit could be costly.” In its latest SEC quarterly filing, it cautioned it could incur “increased costs of operations on an ongoing basis” if the plaintiffs prevail. “The filing says the case could result in a judgment or negotiated settlement that could affect Wal-Mart’s bottom line.”

Here’s how the plaintiff’s attorneys are recruiting plaintiffs

Here’s their press release

Here’s their class certification brief

I’d cite Wal-Mart’s press release, etc., but couldn’t find anything about this case on their site. Though I did find some plain vanilla EEO diversity policy boilerplate, and this bit, which covers what they do for African Americans, Hispanics, seniors, and the disabled, but not women. Oh, I’m sorry, they “received a Blue Ribbon Board Award from the organization Catalyst for having two women on [the] board of directors.” Not all bad.

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