On April 26, 2010, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed certification of the largest class action lawsuit in US history against Wal-Mart for allegedly discriminating against female employees. The 6-5 en banc decision upholds a previous ruling from the Ninth Circuit that allowed the lawsuit to go forward despite the enormous size of the class implicated. Wal-Mart petitioned the Supreme Court to reconsider the holding from the Ninth Circuit in August 2010, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari and heard arguments early in 2011.

Learn more about Wal-Mart, gender discrimination and the laws governing class-action lawsuits from the JURIST news archive.