Let Wal-mart War II Begin
The first attack from the fleet of lawyers launched their initial salvos Thursday against Wal-mart Inc's California stores. The first in possibly hundreds or thousands of class-action lawsuits nationwide against Wal-mart began with the lawsuit accusing the world's largest retailer of gender bias. The first bomb dropped today in San Francisco on behalf of almost 100,000 former and current female workers.
The lawsuit accuses California managers of giving lower pay and fewer promotions to females as compared to males who work at Wal-mart. This lawsuit is the sequel to the first war between Wal-mart and the lawyers. It stems from the initial complaint filed in 2001 that sought class action status on behalf of 1.6 million nationwide. But that one ended in June 2011 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the allegations made were too varied to show that Wal-mart engaged in a nationwide pattern and practice of gender bias.
This second war with Wal-mart will not end the same and will have grave consequences for all corporations dominated by men today. Just as the class-action and mass torts litigation eventually succeeded against big tobacco and asbestos, these lawsuits will eventually force all corporations to adopt gender neutral policies on pay and promotions.
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