The Supreme Court today struck down a massive class action lawsuit by women throughout the Country who were claiming discrimination in wages and promotion opportunities based upon their gender.
The Majority Opinion, written by Antoin Scalia and supported by Justices Thomas, Roberts, Alito, and Kennedy, claims that the lower court classification of the female employees as a discriminated against class was not legally viable under prior precedent. The women therefore can continue to press forward in their individual cases, at their own expense, but will not be eligible for a class action settlement.
That these women received less pay and a lack of promotion opportunities, under the unofficial policies of local management, when compared to men in the same jobs with less senority and lower performance ratings, is not statistically in question. And yet, with the fig leaf of an 'official' corporate non-discrimination policy, Walmart was able to escape liability in the class action venue of legal pursuit by the highest court in the land.
This will allow Walmart to avoid a mass settlement and use divide and conquer tactics to deal with each offended party individually, putting a greater burden and cost on these working class ladies to pursue their own suits agaisnt the corporate giant.
This is a big win for corporate interests, and gives credance to Robert Kennedy Junior's recent claims that this current Supreme Court favors Big Corporations First, Big Government next, and puts the rights and recourse of everyday people last.
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