Women who work in sales for Novartis Pharmaceuticals may proceed with a class-action sex discrimination lawsuit against the company, a federal judge has ruled. The women claim that the company discriminated against them in pay, promotions and personnel evaluations, sometimes because they were pregnant or had recently given birth. The decision, released Wednesday by Judge Gerard Lynch of U.S. District Court in Manhattan, means that the plaintiffs - 19 current and former employees in sales-related positions - can represent other women at the company. The class could include 4,000 to 5,000 current and former workers of Novartis dating from 2002.
See "Novartis faces class-action suit over sex discrimination", Stephanie Saul, International Herald Tribune, August 1, 2007