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PRESS RELEASE ***MEDIA ADVISORY*** July 19, 2004 PLAINTIFFS OPPOSE WAL-MART'S
REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE APPEAL OF CLASS CERTIFICATION RULING IN NATION-WIDE
SEX DISCRIMINATION CASE Berkeley, CA. (July 19, 2004) - Today lawyers representing current and former Wal-Mart employees who claim that Wal-Mart discriminates in pay and promotions filed a brief with the United States Court of Appeals opposing Wal-Mart's request for an immediate appeal from the order certifying the case as a class action. The order, issued on June 21, 2004 by San Francisco Federal Judge Martin Jenkins, ruled that the plaintiffs may represent all female employees of Wal-Mart who worked at its U.S.stores anytime since December 26, 1998 in a nationwide sex discrimination class action lawsuit, Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (N.D. Cal. No C-01-2252). The case is the largest civil rights class action ever certified against a private employer. Plaintiffs oppose the immediate appeal because Wal-Mart had made no showing that an immediate appeal was necessary. Rather, the women charge that Wal-Mart, by virtue of its enormous size, is arguing that it is entitled to special treatment. The brief quotes Judge Jenkins's class certification order where he wrote that there is "no special exception for large employers." Wal-Mart's appeal is based on its claim that it is entitled to individually defend against the claims of each of the more than 1.6 million women in the class, an argument that would essentially make it immune from any class action, the brief argues. The balance of Wal-Mart's appeal simply rehashes factual issues it lost before Judge Jenkins. A copy of Plaintiffs' brief is attached. Jocelyn Larkin, an attorney with the Berkeley-based The Impact Fund, who co-authored the plaintiffs' brief explains Wal-Mart's strategy: "Wal-Mart's request for appeal is a desperate attempt to derail the case before it gets to a jury. If the Ninth Circuit denies the requested appeal, the next stop is a courtroom where Wal-Mart will finally have to face the music." The suit charges that Wal-Mart discriminates against its female retail employees in pay and promotions. The class in this case includes more than 1.6 million current and former female employees of Wal-Mart retail stores in America, including Wal-Mart discount stores, supercenters, neighborhood stores, and Sam's Clubs. Wal-Mart, a global retail giant, reported sales in excess of $256 billion in the fiscal year ending January 31, 2004. Currently Wal-Mart owns and operates 3,566 stores in the United States. Wal-Mart employs more than 1.2 million employees in the United States, two thirds of whom are women, more women than any other company in the nation. The female plaintiffs and the class in this lawsuit are represented by three public interest non-profit groups, The Impact Fund (Berkeley, CA.), Equal Rights Advocates (San Francisco), Public Justice Center (Baltimore, MD), and four private law firms: Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll (Washington, D.C.) Davis Cowell & Bowe (SF), and New Mexico's Tinkler & Firth and Merit Bennett (Santa Fe, NM). Plaintiffs' counsel includes some of the most experienced class action and sex discrimination attorneys in the country. Resources More detailed press information, including charts, pleadings, earlier press releases, and extracts of videotaped depositions may be found at www.walmartclass.com. |