US Supreme Court Thumbs It Nose at Women in Wal-Mart Sex Discrimination Lawsuit

U.S. Supreme Court sides with retail giant Wal-Mart in sex bias lawsuit, saying case cannot proceed as a class action suit in its current form, reversing lower court's decision.

The U.S. Supreme Court has thumbed its nose at women by siding with retail giant Wal-Mart in a class action sex discrimination lawsuit. The court's action will make it substantially harder to mount any large-scale bias claims against the largest companies in the United States.

The justices all agreed that the lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cannot proceed as a class action in its current form, reversing a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. But they split 5-4 along ideological lines over whether the plaintiffs should in essence get another chance to make their case. The lawsuit could have involved up to 1.6 million women, with Wal-Mart facing potentially billions of dollars in damages. Source: ABC News

The six women who brought the lawsuit against the company may pursue their claims individually. That will be at substantially less money and the company won't be pressured to settle sooner rather than later. Once again, big business wins at the expense of Main Street.