CBS reports: “In one of the most closely-watched cases of the Supreme Court’s current term, the justices have delivered a huge victory to businesses trying to fend off costly class action lawsuit filed by employees. It says lower courts were wrong to certify a class action in a case brought by a handful of women workers who accused Wal-Mart of discriminating against them as part of a company-wide policy of bias against females.”

CHRISTINE OWENS, via Norman Eng, neng at nelp.org
Owens is the executive director of the National Employment Law Project. She issued a statement today saying: “The Dukes v. Wal-Mart decision sets a troubling precedent that will make it easier for large and powerful corporations to discriminate and otherwise violate the workplace rights of their employees, while making it harder for these workers to join together to oppose this conduct. CEOs and Wall Street are celebrating the result, but for the millions of workers for whom collective action is the only realistic vehicle for achieving fair pay and equal opportunity, the road to workplace justice has just gotten tougher.

“The Court today has not closed the door on remedies for women who experienced discrimination while working at Wal-Mart, but it has made the pathway to relief much more arduous. We hope the Court’s decision will not deter the women of Wal-Mart or other workers around the country who experience unlawful treatment on the job from pursuing their rights and remedies under the law.”