A federal appeals court ruled (in a 6-5 decision) that thousands of female Wal-Mart employees can sue Wal-Mart as a single class over allegations that the company paid them less than men for the same work and gave them fewer promotions. Wal-Mart was calling for a reversal of the class certification (in 2007 the appeal's court had already approved the class. But Wal-Mart asked the court to reconsider under a larger panel of judges. This most recent decision upheld the 2007 decision). This decision is the latest step in a nearly decade-long battle to bring the case to trial. Wal-Mart has said they plan to appeal the case and take it to the Supreme Court (give it a rest, Wal-Mart! Unscrupulous). Attorneys for the employees said they hope the case goes to trial by the end of the year.
The appeals court did not make a judgement on whether discrimination occurred, but on whether the female employees could sue collectively. The original class was about 1.6 million women and included employees that had worked at Wal-Mart since 1998 and came from about 3,400 different stores (I don't know about you, but I would consider that a problem. What the hell were you doing Wal-Mart? 1.6 million! That's like the population of Idaho!). But the appeals court reduced the size of the class by taking out workers that left the company before the suit was filed in 2001 (So sad. Those women still, most likely, faced discrimination. The thinking shouldn't be "Oh, if only I could have just put up with the dreadful labor standards and terrible discrimination for a couple of years longer!"). The lawyer for the employees estimates that the class still includes more than 1 million women, but Wal-Mart said the number has been reduced to approximately 500,000. (Full Story)
In Kyrgyzstan, the interim government has charged the former President Bakiyev with mass murder in the deaths of the antigovernment protesters that stormed the capital earlier this month. The police and presidential guards had opened fire on thousands of demonstrators and at least 85 people were killed. The new government has also filed charges against Bakiyev for exceeding his authority.
Bakiyev has already fleed to Belarus, where the president there has guaranteed his security. While in Belarus, Bakiyev has challenged the legitimacy and authority of this new government and he says that he remains president despite signing a letter of resignation. The new government in Krygyzstan said they are making it a priority to prosecute Bakiyev and they are seeking his extradition from Belarus. Bakiyev said that his guards opened fire on the protesters only after the protesters started shooting in his office at the government headquarters. He said that dozens of police were also injured in the violence.
The new government also said they will file charges against other members of the Bakiyev government, including some of his family members. Russia, who has pledged support to the new government, has already extradited Bakiyev's interior minister, who had been recovering in Moscow after being severely beaten during the protests. He also is facing charges in the death of protesters. (Full Story)
No comments:
Post a Comment