WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to review a sex discrimination lawsuit against Walmart -- for now the largest class action suit in U.S. history.
The review does not involve the merits of the suit -- whether Walmart is guilty of discrimination against women -- but whether the enormous class action, with about 1.5 million plaintiffs, should be allowed to proceed.
The justices accepted Walmart's petition in a short order that indicated at least some of them have a problem with the size of the class action. The order directed the parties to prepare briefs and argument on whether the class action allowed by the lower courts violates the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
The case started in San Francisco in 2001 when six women filed suit claiming Walmart discrimination, in part because they were passed over for promotion in favor of men. One says she was told, "It's a man's world".
"This nationwide class includes every woman employed for any period of time over the past decade, in any of Walmart's approximately 3,400 separately managed stores, 41 regions and 400 districts, and who held positions in any of approximately 53 departments and 170 different job classifications," the company's petition to the Supreme Court said. "The millions of class members collectively seek billions of dollars in monetary relief under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, claiming that tens of thousands of Walmart managers inflicted monetary injury on each and every individual class member in the same manner by intentionally discriminating against them because of their sex, in violation of the company's express anti-discrimination policy".
The petition questions whether monetary claims can be brought under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure "which by its terms is limited to injunctive or corresponding declaratory relief".
A federal appeals court panel and the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, both divided, approved the certification of the class.
The case should be heard by the Supreme Court this spring. UPI
