1:03 PM
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices sharply questioned on Tuesday whether more than a million female employees can join together against Wal-Mart Stores Inc in the largest class-action sex-discrimination lawsuit in history.
The justices seemed sympathetic to Wal-Mart in considering whether a small group of women who began the lawsuit against the world's largest retailer 10 years ago can represent a huge nationwide class.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, a moderate conservative who often casts the decisive vote on the nine-member court, said, "I'm just not sure what the unlawful policy is."
Potentially liability could reach billions of dollars.
Even if Wal-Mart loses at the Supreme Court and then at trial, financial analysts said the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company has more than enough cash to make a big payout with little impact on its profits.
A crowd of protesters gathered outside the court, shouting "Fair pay now" and carrying signs such as "Stop discounting the women of Wal-Mart" and "The women of Wal-Mart are not worthless."
Chris Kwapnoski, a 24-year Wal-Mart employee and one of the named plaintiffs in the case, told reporters after the arguments, "We're not going to lose."
She recalled being told by a manager to "brush the cobwebs off" and "doll up" if she wanted advancement.
"Wal-Mart is trying their level best to keep us out of court so the facts will not be presented to the public at large or before a sitting jury," said Betty Dukes, a Wal-Mart employee in Pittsburg, California, who first filed a law suit against the retailer in 2001.
The court is likely to make a ruling by late June. The decision could change the legal landscape for workplace and other class-action lawsuits, affecting a similar case against Costco Wholesale Corp.
JUSTICE SCALIA: "IS THIS REALLY DUE PROCESS?
Businesses say a Wal-Mart defeat could make every large corporation vulnerable to sweeping allegations of employment bias and would water down class-action requirements.
The Supreme Court is only deciding whether the lawsuit can go to trial as a group. If the court rejects the class-action status, the individual women still can sue, both sides in the case say.
Large class-action lawsuits make it easier for big groups of plaintiffs to sue corporations and they have led to huge payouts by tobacco, oil and food companies.
During the session, some justices strongly questioned the women's arguments.
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