Wal-Mart?s efforts to block the nation?s largest sex discrimination lawsuit suffered a big setback yesterday when a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled that the case should proceed as a class action. In a 2-to-1 ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected Wal-Mart?s argument that the lawsuit, which involves at least 1.5 million current and former women employees, was too unwieldy to handle in a single case. Legal specialists said the ruling would increase pressure on Wal-Mart Stores to settle the case, in which the retailer is accused of discrimination in pay and promotions. Wal-Mart executives said they would appeal, voicing confidence that the decision would be overturned.
See "Court Approves Class-Action Suit Against Wal-Mart", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, February 6, 2007