Bloomberg View

A CLASS ACTION TOO BIG TO SUCCEED
Everything about Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) is enormous. Total sales, at $422 billion last year, exceeded the gross domestic product of all but 18 countries. Its 4,300 U.S. stores employ more than 1.4 million people, more than any other U.S. company. So the verdict handed down on June 20 by the U.S. Supreme Court in was suitably outsized; it decided the largest workplace discrimination case in history. The decision, which was unanimous in one part and split 5-4 along ideological lines in another, was the correct one.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of every woman who worked for Wal-Mart since late December 1998, more than 1.5 million in all. The female plaintiffs claimed that they had been illegally denied pay and promotions despite a company policy against sex discrimination. The suit relied largely on statistics, which seemed damning enough. Women filled 70 percent of Wal-Mart's hourly jobs, yet made up only 33 percent of management. Women were paid less than men in every region, even when they had higher performance ratings and seniority. The plaintiffs bolstered their case with affidavits detailing the experiences of 120 individuals.