It looks as though the Supreme Court justices are unconvinced that the largest discrimination case in history, brought by several women against Wal-Mart, should have been certified as a class action suit by a lower court. That certification by the 9th Circuit court includes every woman employed for any period of time during the past decade at any of Wal-Mart’s 3400 stores. The upshot thus far seems to be that the argument that the claims are not similar enough to be typical is prevailing and that the cases should have instead been brought in separate trials. Law professor, Kent Greenfield, writes in the Huffington Post as to what the justices, Kennedy in particular, may be missing about the power of corporate culture. For more information click here to visit the Huffington Post web site.
Whatever the outcome, Wal-mart won’t be the last organization fending off allegations of a pervasive culture of discrimination. Six women filed suit on March 21 against Bayer Corporation citing discrimination based on gender, taking leave protected by federal and state laws, as well as pregnancy status and that of primary-caregiving mothers. The six claim to represent hundreds of other women and their allegations, if true, seem overtly egregious. For more details on the Bayer case, see the Society for Human Resources online news article by clicking here.
Of course the best way to avoid getting into a similar situation is to train, train, train your managers on these and all your policies and practices: sexual harassment and other harassment awareness, proper interviewing, FMLA, and all of your non-discrimination policies and practices. As with all important communications, the message and culture of non-discrimination comes from the top so top executive support and messaging are key. For more information or help addressing these issues, HRSentry.com provides up-to-date links to laws and legal information, best practice information, sample policies and kits.