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More Gender Discrimination Claims Against Wal-Mart

This move comes after a legal technicality resulted in the dismissal of a gender inequality class action lawsuit brought by some 1,800 plaintiffs. Our Los Angeles gender discrimination lawyers know that it was not on merit that this case, filed in 2001, was dismissed in 2011.
But for many of those women, justice may never come. Some, including the primary plaintiff, are dead. Others have seen the statute of limitations run out on their claims. Some have been granted exception on those time limits since the case was reversed
The lead plaintiff lawyer in this case represented many of the others.
“We have unfinished business that we are determined to see to the end,” she told Law.com.

A company spokesman stated the firm will vigorously defend itself against the gender bias claims, pointing to the fact that 60 percent of hourly promotions made last year and 45 percent of management promotions in the U.S. were women. The company also reportedly initiated a diversity program, which resulted in the company’s legal program expanding from just a handful female attorneys to about 45 percent. Compared to other S&P 500 companies, nearly one-third of the retailer’s corporate employees were females, compared the average, 27 percent.
Nonetheless, the number of gender discrimination lawsuits against the firm continues. Pending gender discrimination claims against the retailer  – about 150 – have been filed in six states, including California, Florida, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Plans are being made in five other states, including Texas and Illinois. That is expected to occur within the next few months. It’s likely there will be more.

Many of these plaintiffs are suing alone. Others do so in small groups.  In total, there are 19 separate cases. Preparations are also under way for additional gender discrimination claims. Our Los Angeles gender discrimination claims attorneys know that while some of these cases will proceed together in the early stages, each plaintiff will have to meet the individual proof burden.

When the U.S. Supreme Court shut down the previous case, justices ruled essentially that the group was too large, and thus there were too many differences between individual class members. This was a matter of technicality, not merit.

The high court has also held that the statute of limitations might time-bar some of these older cases, but only the class action litigation, not the individual claims, some of which were filed more than 15 years ago. These cases pursued now are have all been cleared by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to proceed on their own.

But even as plaintiff attorneys concede some of these cases are older and Walmart has made strides when it comes to improving its ratios, those figures still aren’t where they should be. And further, the changes that came later and in response to litigation doesn’t make the older claims any less valid.

Contact the employment attorneys at Nassiri Law Group, practicing in Orange County, Riverside and Los Angeles. Call 949.375.4734.

Additional Resources:

Walmart Faces New Round of Gender Discrimination Suits Based on 2001 Dukes Complaint, May 13, 2019, Law.com

More Blog Entries:

$7 Million Awarded in California Police Gender Discrimination Claim, May 1 2019, California Gender Discrimination Attorney Blog

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