› $580,975,000 verdict in consumer fraud case
Pharmaceutical drug manufacturer Novartis must pay $3.3 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages for systemically discriminating against thousands of female employees, a federal jury in Manhattan ruled on Wednesday.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has opened the door for millions of women who claim retail discount giant Wal-Mart discriminated against female employees. A class-action lawsuit originally filed in 2001 claims the retailer paid its female employees less than male employees doing the same job, and gave fewer promotions to women employees. The class-action could involve more than 1 million women.
A federal appeals court dealt Wal-Mart a huge blow today when it ruled that the largest sex-discrimination lawsuit in U.S. history may proceed as a class action. The lawsuit, which was originally filed in 2001 by a group of six female Wal-Mart employees, could potentially affect more than 1.5 million women throughout the country, a 2001 estimate found.
