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On June 20, 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States held that a sex-discrimination class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart, which could have included more than one million female workers, could not move forward.
In Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, et al., plaintiffs charged Wal-Mart with engaging in a pattern and practice of pay and promotion discrimination. The plaintiffs moved to certify the lawsuit as a class action under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The District Court granted the plaintiffs' motion and approved the certification of a class comprised of approximately one-and-a-half million plaintiffs. The Ninth Circuit affirmed.
The Supreme Court, however, reversed the Ninth Circuit's decision, holding that class certification was improper. Specifically, the Supreme Court held there was a lack of commonality, particularly when the plaintiffs were attempting to sue on millions of separate employment actions at once and there was no "glue holding together the alleged reasons" to justify class action certification. The Court further held that there was no "significant proof" that Wal-Mart "operated under a general policy of discrimination."
The Court's pro-business decision comes on the heels of its decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, where the Court upheld the enforceability of an arbitration agreement that required the case to go to individual arbitration rather than being filed as a class action.
What This Means to You
The Supreme Court's recent decisions may create more scrutiny of plaintiffs using other class devices – such as collective and class actions in Fair Labor Standards Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Family and Medical Leave Act cases – against their current or former employers. Employees, it appears, must now more clearly prove that they suffered a truly collective and common wrong to sustain a class action.
The Supreme Court's recent decisions may ultimately help thwart the flood of ill-conceived class-action lawsuits against employers.
For More Information
For further information, please contact: Anthony Romano | 816.360.4251 | aromano@polsinelli.com. |
