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The Supreme Court on Monday announced its decision in the historic Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v Dukes case, handing a victory to Wal-Mart. In a 5-to-4 decision the Court’s majority found that 1.5 million female Wal-Mart employees cannot unite under a class action suit against the world’s largest employer. The class would have included all current and former female employees hired since December 26th, 1998. This closely watched case wound its way up from lower courts as Wal-Mart argued that because gender discrimination is forbidden under its employment policies, the plaintiffs did not suffer from a common experience of discrimination. The Court’s majority agreed, with Justice Antonin Scalia citing previous decisions in writing, “‘The existence of a class of persons who have suffered the same injury must be bridged by ‘[s]significant proof that an employer operated under a general policy of discrimination.’ Such proof is absent here.” However the Court’s minority opinion seems to argue the opposite. Justice Ginsberg wrote, “The plaintiffs evidence suggests that gender bias suffused Wal-Mart’s company culture. Managers, like all humankind, may be prey to biases of which they are unaware.” Led by Betty Dukes, the plaintiffs offered statistical evidence showing that female employees of Wal-Mart were paid less, and promoted less often, than men, across regions and over many years. Though women constitute 70% of Wal-Mart’s hourly employees they account for only 33% of management.

GUEST: Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project

Visit the National Employment Law Project’s website at: www.nelp.org