This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English EconomicsReport.

A class-action lawsuit is a legal case brought by a group ofpeople who seek to represent a much larger group. Intwo-thousand-one, six women brought a case against Wal-Mart Stores.They say the company pays female employees, on average, five tofifteen percent less than men for the same work. Treating employeesdifferently based on their sex is an illegal form of discrimination.

Last week a federal judge in California ruled that the case cango forward as a class action. It could become the biggestsex-discrimination lawsuit in American history. It could involve asmany as one-point-six million women employed by Wal-Mart now or inthe past. These include the six who brought the case.

Wal-Mart is based in Bentonville, Arkansas. It is the largestprivate employer in the world. It has more than one-millionemployees. Wal-Mart sells all kinds of low-price goods in itsstores. The company reported profits of nine-thousand-milliondollars last year.

Wal-Mart says it has no policy of discrimination against women.It says decisions about jobs are usually made locally at its morethan three-thousand stores across the country.

Women make up about two-thirds of all the Wal-Mart workers whoare paid by the hour. But only about one-third of supervisors arewomen. And women represent just fourteen percent of the topofficials in the company.

The percentage of women in top jobs is twenty points lower thanthe average of the twenty largest sellers in the country. Lawyersfor the women presented these numbers based on information reportedto the Department of Labor. Wal-Mart says women do not seek toppositions as often as men.

Judge Martin Jenkins in San Francisco did not rule on thearguments in the case. Wal-Mart said his ruling simply showed thatthe judge believes the case meets the legal requirements for a classaction. The company said it would appeal.

Wal-Mart argues that such a large class action is not fair. Itsays the court would need years to hear all the evidence. Thecompany wants the right to answer claims individually.

If the case remains a class action, legal experts say pressurewill build on Wal-Mart to reach a settlement. That could mean payingthousands of millions of dollars to current and former employees.But a settlement would avoid a trial, and the risk of having to payeven more.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by MarioRitter. This is Bob Doughty.