CLASS ACTION

Supreme Court Leans to Walmart in Gender Bias Case

In gender-bias case.

Siding with Walmart really won’t do much to change the Supreme Court’s pro-corporation reputation, but the high court suggested Tuesday it is favoring the retail giant in a gender-bias lawsuit involving potentially millions of female workers. While hearing arguments Tuesday in Washington, the justices were generally receptive to Walmart, which is arguing that the women’s claims are too varied to proceed as a single lawsuit, despite already having been approved by a federal appeals court. The justices also appeared to be going straight along gender lines, with the three women being the strongest supporters of the class action and the male justices skeptical. The case, one of the most closely watched of this term, threatens Walmart with billions in dollars in damages as it aims to cover every woman who ever worked at both Walmart and Sam’s Club stores since December 1998.