월마트 사상최대 성차별 소송 직면
From ABC News headquarters, this is World News with Charles Gibson. Good evening. It is a lawsuit 소송, 고소 so large in scope 범위 and size that it staggers the imagination 상상을 초월하다. A federal appeals court 항소법원 ruled today that a gender bias suit 성차별소송 against Wal-Mart can proceed in what is known as a class action suit 집단소송.
That means a million and half to two million women would be plaintiffs 원고, 고소인 arguing as a group, or class, that Wal-Mart discriminated against 차별대우하다 them in providing promotions 승진, 진급 and in paying them less than male employees. Here’s our senior law and justice correspondent Jim Avola.
It’s America’s biggest store, biggest employer and now must defend 변호하다 itself against a huge female group of its employees who claim Wal-Mart is also the biggest discriminator 차별하는 사람 in the country. “Our words are true. We are not falsely accusing 고소하다 Wal-Mart. We are stating <사실을> 분명히 말하다 the facts as they have occurred.”
The women claim Wal-Mart systematically 조직적으로 pays its female staff 5 to 15% less than its male workers in comparable 비길만한, 비슷한 jobs. And that while the Wal-Mart work force is two thirds female, women get only one third of all promotions to management. For its part, Wal-Mart in a telephone news conference 기자회견 said, it will appeal this decision as far as the Supreme Court 연방대법원. The company denies it discriminates and says it strongly promotes 장려하다 diversity <기업의> 인력 다양화, 성차별 철폐 in the work place. And in 2005, its CEO promised to correct any valid 타당한, 근거가 확실한 complaints.
Wal-Mart attorneys 변호사 lost their argument that defending a class action suit is unfair because it would be impossible to cross-examine ~에게 꼬치꼬치 캐묻다 each of the two million women accusing them. Wal-Mart claimed its workers should be required to sue each store individually. Today, the court majority said that is impossible.