The Women vs. Wal-Mart

By drodriguez
04.28.10

20 Add your comment

Good news has come through for thousands of women involved in a lawsuit against Wal-Mart, the largest retail chain in the world. The Washington Post reports that a federal appeals court has ruled that all of the women involved can file as a class action against the giant retail chain. This ruling comes after almost a decade of litigation against Wal-Mart claiming that their women employees were not paid equal to the men and were not given as many promotions. The ruling does not mean Wal-Mart is being charged with wrong-doing, it just means the women involved can now proceed with their lawsuit as a group.

It is being estimated that there are currently about 500,000 women involved in the lawsuit against Wal-Mart. That number has gone down from the millions that were involved before the appeals court ruled the case could only involve women who left the company after 2001 when the suit was filed. Betty Dukes was one of the six original plaintiffs leading the suit against Wal-Mart. She complained that Wal-Mart often paid women less than men even in cases where they had higher performance ratings and more seniority.

One of the attorneys, Ted Boutrous, representing Wal-Mart discusses how far-reaching this lawsuit can actually become. Boutrous says, "We’ve always believed that this case presented issues that go far beyond the parties. This formula is really a recipe for massive litigation against companies around the country." Many would hope that a high profile lawsuit like this would encourage other companies to investigate whether they are offering equal benefits to female employees.

Representatives at Wal-Mart defend the retailer saying they have made a lot of progress to support women employees and cites a recent article from Pink magazine, aimed at women in business, that named the store as one of the 10 best companies to work for.

What do you think of the current class action suit being formed against Wal-Mart for paying women less than men?

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By MadHatter
04.28.10

if they got the proof, then roll with it. fight for your rights!!!!
By cybrown551
04.28.10

If this is true and Wal-Mart has been operating in this fashion then more power to the women. I believe that everyone should be rewarded equally no matter what their gender is or the color of their skin.
By msfriendly
04.28.10

If this is true....most of their loyal shoppers I see at our Wal-Mart are women....maybe we should stop shopping there!
By jenndta69
04.28.10

They need to fight if that's the case.
By erinvictoria19
04.29.10

My sister in law worked for them and they promoted a man instead of her in the pet department. She used her past knowledge and contacts to fix the problems in the department, used her contacts and friends to get products to fix the problem, and they promoted a man, not her to be manager of that department. It was such an obvious case of gender discrimination. Her family owned a pet store her whole life, and she had so much to offer that position. They used her knowledge, but promoted a man instead of her. I won't shop at Walmart.
By ponderingprincess
04.29.10

I know people who work there and I know this happens, I hope they win...women should be heard and promoted for there hard work
By MyEmptyCanvas
04.30.10

If this is true, then those women need to go for it and go hard ! Wal-Mart is a piece of work and I rarely shop there now because I'd rather not have a headache when I come out of there. They act like using coupons is against the law or something and scrutinize every little thing... I just can't waste 40 minutes in there each time when I go in for 1 or 2 items.
By sammyrox
04.30.10

Wal-mart has taken advantage of it's employees, suppliers, and customers for many years. It's good to see the people who are involved fighting back to the extent of the law.
By rikkiroo
05.02.10

I wish them luck.
By honesty20002
05.03.10

WALMART HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS IN THE PAST. FROM FALSE ADVERTISEMENT, AND FALSE PRICES (CHECK YOUR RECEIPT BEFORE LEAVING THE STORE) TO BELOW STANDARD SECURITY. NOW THIS. IF THIS IS TRUE WALMART HAS LOSS ME AS A CUSTOMER. I AM A WOMAN WHO HAS STORMED DOWN MANY OBTACLES TO REACH WHERE I AM TODAY. AND I AM SURE THERE ARE 100'S OF OTHERS. WOMEN HAVE THE POWER. GUESS I'LL DO MORE SHOPPING AT TARGET.