Workers, consumers and many other individuals without the means to lodge lawsuits on their own against massive corporations may find an important avenue to courts cut off if the Supreme Court rules in favor of Wal-Mart in its effort to shut down a class action employment discrimination lawsuit, according to constitutional law experts following the case.
Adam Klein, a partner at Outten & Golden, and chair of the law firm’s class action practice group, told ACSblog in an interview following a recent event examining the case, that a decision in favor of Wal-Mart may indeed limit class actions.
“What it comes down to is whether employees who don’t earn a lot of money, who don’t have access to lawyers to prosecute their cases on an individual basis can find a way back into the court system without the right to bring class actions,” Klein said. “That’s the core issue, I think, in the Wal-Mart case. The hope is that there are ways around whatever limitations the Supreme Court places on class action employment cases.”
Klein noted that smaller class actions would likely still be an option even if Wal-Mart successfully defeats the large gender discrimination class action it faces. Watch his entire interview below or download a podcast of it here.