A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] on Tuesday allowed [order, PDF] a now 13-year-old gender discrimination lawsuit against Goldman Sachs to proceed with class action status.

More than 2,000 current and former female Goldman Sachs employees secured class action status [opinion, PDF] in March, which the bank immediately sought to appeal.

The complaint was initially filed in 2005 by Cristina Chen-Oster with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and revised [complaint, PDF] in 2010 to join with others seeking both compensation and to compel Goldman Sachs to change discriminatory policies and illegal practices. The complaint argues these practices are in violation of both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and New York law.

The lawsuit charges Goldman Sachs with paying its female employees less than similarly situated males, promoting men over equally qualified or more qualified women, and offering greater professional development opportunities to male employees, among other discriminatory practices.