Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Wal-Mart Discrimination Case

The article refers to a lawsuit by women that claim discrimination against Wal-Mart of salaries and promotion eligibility. Initially there were 6 women with the claim, but through the appeals processes at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, there is the potential for up to 1.5M women to be part of the now class action lawsuit. They claim that from 1998 forward, the women's salaries were 5-15% lower than that of their male counterparts, and the women were overlooked for promotions that they had the qualifications and requirements to fill, but were not considered. Since the Court of Appeals in San Francisco decided that the number of plaintiffs could increase by up to 1.5M women, Wal-Mart is now considering an appeals hearing at the US Supreme Court level.

This is more of a protective state appeal if it does end up going to the Supreme Court. The plaintiffs could affirm that since it is concerning individual liberty under Amendment XIV in the "privileges or immunities" clause would apply. Whereas Wal-Mart could appeal to the same Amendment, but use the "due process of law" clause.

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