Six years after the Supreme Court tossed out a suit against Walmart for sex discrimination, the retail corporation is being hit with a new class action lawsuit regarding pay discrimination. On Nov. 6, seven female employees of Walmart filed a complaint in federal court in Florida, related to the company’s pay and promotion practices, alleging gender discrimination.
According to WWD, the suit claims:
“Wal-Mart maintained a pattern or practice of gender discrimination in compensation and promotion. And, in each of the above regions, the compensation and promotion policies and practices of Wal-Mart had a disparate impact, not justified by business necessity, on its female employees in the region.”
In 2011, Betty Dukes, a greeter at a Walmart store in California, and the seven plaintiffs who filed the most recent suit, led the landmark case against the company. Although it was ultimately thrown out, it pushed the Supreme Court to rewrite guidelines for class action suits in employment-related cases, making it more difficult for employees to sue companies for discrimination. Since the most recent suit only seeks to represent women in southeastern regional stores, it is in accordance with the new guidelines.
A Walmart spokesperson vehemently denied the most recent allegations, associating them with the already-rejected 2011 lawsuit. This lawsuit joins several others against the world’s largest retailer; since Dukes v. Walmart, over 2,000 claims regarding pay and promotion have been filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Walmart.
If you work or have worked at a Walmart store or another company and believe you were the victim of pay and gender discrimination, you may be eligible for compensation. Contact our experienced Philadelphia employment lawyers at Golomb Legalto learn more about your legal options today.
For a free case evaluation, call (215) 278-4449 or contact us online.