ALTHOUGH THE SUPREME COURT HAS RULED THAT NATIONAL CLASS CLAIMS AGAINST WALMART MAY NOT GO FORWARD, CLAIMS OF SEX DISCRIMINATION MAY STILL BE PURSUED.

On June 20, 2011, the Supreme Court reversed the class certification decision in this case. Click here to read the Supreme Court’s decision. To read our statement to the media click here. While the plaintiffs and class counsel are disappointed at the decision, they will continue to fight for equal opportunity for women at Walmart.

The Supreme Court's decision only addressed whether a national class action could go forward. It did not rule on whether Walmart discriminated against women or whether you may pursue an individual claim of sex discrimination.

If You Worked At Wal-Mart at Any Time Since December 26, 1998, and were denied equal pay or promotion to store management positions, there Are Five Important Points You Need to Know:

1. It Is Important That You Act Promptly To Protect Your Rights To Pursue Your Claim. If you were a member of the previously certified class you may be able to pursue your claim on an individual basis.
   
   The class included female employees at any Walmart store and Sam's Club in the United States with sex discrimination claims concerning pay for any store position and/or promotion to management positions at any time since December 26, 1998.
   
   If you believe you may have been harmed by the discriminatory practices alleged in this case, you must act to protect your rights before the time to pursue your claim expires as described further below.
   
   
2. What You Can Do If You Would Like Us to Review Your Claim:
   
   If you have already completed an intake form on this website, or have otherwise been in contact with us, you should receive a letter or email from us in the next month describing your options. THERE IS NO NEED TO SIGN UP HERE AGAIN. In fact, signing up again slows the processing of your claim. If your contact information has changed since your last communication with us, you may update your contact information by using the same log-in and password we sent you before. If you did not retain that information please update your contact information here. Otherwise there is no need to contact us. Please see the important information below concerning the filing deadlines that may apply to any claim you may have.
   
   If you have not previously contacted us, register here by filling out a short, confidential questionnaire. All information will be treated as confidential and will not be provided to Walmart or anyone else without your permission. We will review your information and let you know your options. We are working hard to respond as quickly as we can. We have received thousands of contacts, so it may be a month or more before we are able to get back to you. Please be aware that registering your information through this website does not extend the limited time period you have to pursue a claim by filing a charge with the EEOC or state agency, or by filing a lawsuit.
   
   
3. Do the Attorneys for the Class Represent Me?
   
   During the period while the class was certified, we served as class counsel and represented the members of the class. The Supreme Court’s decision that the case may no longer proceed as a class means that we no longer represent you unless we enter into an agreement to serve as your lawyer on your individual claim. If you have already registered on this website, or do so now, we will evaluate your potential claims and determine whether we may serve as your lawyer in proceedings before the EEOC or in court. Although the information you provide us on this website is confidential, we cannot serve as your lawyer until we have had the opportunity to review your claim and mutually confirm in writing that we represent you. Unless we do so, and until that time, it is your responsibility to pursue your claim of discrimination against Walmart. This may include filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC or state agency or pursuing your claims in court. We hope to represent a significant number of women on their individual claims. It will take some time to review your claim and advise you on whether we can serve as your lawyer. For those we cannot represent, we will refer you to other attorneys if you wish.
   
   
4. What is the Deadline for Pursuing my Claim?
   
   The law gives you a limited amount of time to pursue your claim of discrimination against Walmart. The passage of that time period was “tolled” or stopped while the class action was pending for the equal pay and management promotion claims covered by this class action. This is why even though the discriminatory actions you challenge may have occurred many years ago, you still may be able to bring a case. The Supreme Court’s decision that a class may not go forward restarts this time period to pursue your claim. You may pursue a claim either by filing a charge with the EEOC or state agency, or by filing a lawsuit.
   
   
   We cannot advise you now on the amount of time you have to file an EEOC charge or a lawsuit since we must first have an opportunity to review the individual circumstances of your claim. More information on the filing deadlines is available on the EEOC’s website: http://www.eeoc.gov/employees/timeliness.cfm.
   
   You may wish to consult with another attorney of your choice to explore your legal options as we will not be able to respond right away to all the women who contact us. Although we plan to ask the District Court in our case to allow former class members additional time to take legal action, there is no guarantee the court will grant this request. We will update this website with the latest information from the court.
   
   
5. What are my Responsibilities?
   
   a) Keep your contact information current and make sure we have your email address. To update your information:
   
   1. If you have not been in contact with us, click here to register.
   2. If you have an ID and password, click here if your address has changed since you registered with us.
   3. If you have been in contact with us in the past but do not have an ID and password, click here to update your contact information.
   We will not be able to reach you if we do not have your current contact information.
   
   b) File an EEOC charge or pursue other legal action: We will review your information and let you know whether we are able to represent you in filing an EEOC charge or taking other legal action on your behalf. If you wish to take legal action before we have made that determination, you may consult with an attorney of your choice or file a charge on your own with the EEOC office closest to you or at any of the EEOC’s field offices. Although the EEOC does not take charges over the phone, you can call 1-800-669-4000 to submit basic information about a possible charge, and they will forward the information to the field office in your area. For information on filing an EEOC charge please visit the EEOC’s website at: http://www.eeoc.gov/employees/howtofile.cfm.
   
   c) If you have other claims that were not part of this case, such as wrongful termination, harassment or other unlawful employment practices such as race, disability or age discrimination, or any claims under state law, former class counsel is not in a position to advise you about such claims and cannot represent you on such claims. Such claims have their own time limits. If you want to consult an attorney, your state or local bar association may have a lawyer referral service that can put you in touch with a lawyer who can help you. The American Bar Association maintains a directory of these services around the country: http://apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/lris/directory. In addition, the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) is a membership organization of attorneys who specialize in representing workers who claim to be victims of employment discrimination. Though NELA cannot give you advice or refer you to a lawyer, you may use the Find A Lawyer feature on its website (www.nela.org/findalawyer) to obtain contact information for attorneys in your area who specialize in representing employees in workplace disputes.
   
   

The Fight Continues

• Remember that the Supreme Court has NOT given Walmart a free pass to discriminate. Demand your rights!
• Our lawyers and legal assistants across the country are reviewing thousands of potential claims from class members and speaking to those women for whom interviews are necessary in order to provide the best advice about your legal options. This is an enormous task—we have been contacted by more than 12,000 class members over the years. We will do our best to respond to all who have contacted us in the near future.
• In the coming months we plan to file regional class actions in many states around the country. We will update this website with further developments.