Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 222 F.R.D. 137 (N.D. Cal. 2004) (Jenkins, J.)

Plaintiffs in this Title VII class-action lawsuit alleged that women employed in Wal-Mart stores are paid less than men in comparable positions, despite having higher performance ratings and greater seniority, receive fewer promotions to in-store management positions, and those who are promoted must wait longer than their male counterparts to advance. The class, the largest ever certified in an employment case, includes over 1.5 million women who have been employed by Wal- Mart over the past five years at roughly 3,400 stores across the United States. The Court certified the class with respect to plaintiffs’ equal pay and promotion claims, but denied certification on unmanageability grounds of that portion of the promotion claim seeking lost pay and punitive damages for class members for whom there was no data available about their interest in the challenged promotions.