Judge allows Wal-Mart sex discrimination case in biggest class action (22/06/2004)
WASHINGTON (AFP) A federal judge ruled that retail powerhouse Wal-Mart can be sued for sex-discrimination in the biggest class-action civil rights case in US history, documents showed. As a class action, the case covers about 1.6 million women, including current and former employees at Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the United States and world's biggest retail company. In his ruling, Judge Martin Jenkins of US District Court in San Francisco said the class can seek punitive damages as back pay for lost earnings and wage discrepancies. The judge called the case "historic in nature, dwarfing other employment discrimination cases that came before" the court, and compared it to the Brown versus Board of Education case on school discrimination 50 years earlier. "This anniversary serves as a reminder of the importance of the courts in addressing the denial of equal treatment under the law whenever and by whomever it occurs," the judge wrote Tuesday. Wal-Mart chief spokeswoman Mona Williams said the substance of the case has not even come to trial, but that the compan -------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
