Supremes decide Wal-Mart case

The class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart for gender discrimination has been a popular term project topic in my Global Economics for Managers course over the last few years.  Last week the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the case could not proceed as a class action; instead, individuals or small groups would have to sue on their own.  With fewer plaintiffs (and thus smaller pots of potential damages) such cases will be less appealing to lawyers and will be less likely to be brought. 

This does not mean that Wal-Mart is innocent of discriminating against women; it just means that the cases cannot proceed as a massive class action.