U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Wal-Mart Discrimination Suit With Bay Area Ties
PITTSBURG (KCBS) -- The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to vote tomorrow on whether to accept Wal-Mart's appeal in a huge civil rights class action lawsuit that began in the Bay Area.
The case started when a greeter who had worked at Wal-Mart's Pittsburg store filed suit in 2001 accusing the store of favoring less experienced male employees over her. The suit grew to include as many as 1.6 million women at Wal-Mart stores all over the country.
KCBS' Rebecca Corral Reports:
A trial judge decided it should be held as a class action law suit. Wal-Mart appealed, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the class action status decision. That question is now before the Supreme Court.
The case is being watched closely by big businesses such as Microsoft, Bank of America, and General Electric. Officials at the companies say allowing unrelated discrimination claims to proceed as class actions exposes them to massive liability.
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