Ten years ago a group of women who worked at Wal-Mart stores filed a lawsuit alleging that their employer engaged in company-wide sex discrimination, by paying women less than men, promoting fewer women to management positions, and promoting male employees more quickly. The case — now a class action — has made its way to the Supreme Court.
On March 29, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, to determine whether the women employed at Wal-Mart stores across the country can join together in a class action lawsuit to challenge pay and promotion practices that discriminate against women. If Wal-Mart succeeds in keeping these women from joining together, the already uphill battle for women to fight pay discrimination will get even worse. The Court’s ruling will affect women who face pay discrimination around the country, for generations to come.
This case highlights the need for Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which failed to pass the Senate late last year. Evidence was presented by Betty Dukes and the other plaintiffs that women employed by Wal-Mart didn’t know how much their male co-workers were paid, unless they found out by accident. And they were threatened with retaliation if they complained about differences in pay. The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen pay equity laws, bar retaliation against employees who talk about their pay and provided better remedies for pay discrimination.
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