Tweet

Wal-Mart v. Dukes: 7 Employment Takeaways from the Recent Supreme Court Ruling

Guest post by: Ari Rosenstein

Article Overview: The recent case of Wal-Mart v. Dukes impacts the way employers address human resources practices, and other HR policies and procedures. Even if a company has recently updated its employee manual and management practices, they should once again review these policies in light of the Supreme Court decision. Here are seven important takeaways.

Wal-Mart v. Dukes: 7 Employment Takeaways from the Recent Supreme Court Ruling

Unless you've recently returned from a trip to the moon, you have undoubtedly heard of the Supreme Court ruling in the Wal-Mart v. Dukes discrimination class action lawsuit. The lawsuit, one of the largest discrimination suits in history, represented over 1.5 million women who claimed that had been discriminated against. The Supreme Court turned down the lawsuit, stating they lacked a cohesive claim to bind them together as a class action. This landmark decision addresses several important issues relating to all class action lawsuits, and provides important insights towards implementing human resources best-practices.

The case clearly impacts the way employers address human resources practices, and other HR policies and procedures. Even if a company has recently updated its employee manual and management practices, they should once again review these policies in light of the Supreme Court decision.

Below are seven important take-aways that employers should consider implementing to comply with EEOC anti-discrimination policies. Putting these actions into place will help to protect them against future class actions, as well as other discrimination related lawsuits.

1. Carefully review pay and promotion policies to determine whether or not they could be misconstrued as favoring one class over another.
2. Eliminate all subjective decision-making processes by clearly linking promotions, demotions, raises or bonuses to objective goals and job performance.
3. Ensure that all managers who are tasked with performance appraisals are properly trained on the relevant labor laws, proper employment practices and appropriate decision making processes.
4. For those employees who have been turned down the possibility of a promotion, or who were denied a raise, consider implementing an appeal process.
5. Investigate, and implement, other corporate policies with the purpose of increasing diversity in the workplace, and preventing discriminatory practices.
6. Continue to train and communicate corporate policies to the staff, particularly in the areas addressing anti-discrimination practices, career growth opportunities, and the ability to access further education.
7. Take employee complaints seriously, document your response and follow up, and be sure to address each issue on its own individual merits.

As we have witnessed time and again, the playing field of employment law continues to change and evolve. The rules are not static, and employers must make all efforts to remain abreast to these changes, and recognize how they impact their human resources practices in the workplace. When in doubt, prior to making any employment decision, it always recommended to consult with a human resources consulting expert or labor attorney. The short term cost will be well spent in protecting against long term expenses.

Related Articles
  California Labor Law Update: Recent Court Decisions Favor Employers
  3 Lawsuits That Are Changing the California Labor Law Landscape
  Employment and Labor Law in California Updates
  Expansion of Employee Retaliation Protection
  Battle Over Health Care Reform Now Reaches U.S. Supreme Court
  Supreme Court Ruling May Lead To More Unionization
  Retaliation Is Now #1
  Illegal Workers Protected by FLSA
  It’s That Time of Year
  Learn How Walmart Made Joey a Millionaire!
  Lesson #2: To Make the Dunk You Need to First Take the Jump
  Bye Bye Business Method Patents
  The Differences Between Federal and California Labor Laws
  Unconstitutional Obamacare Law Declared "Void"
  On the Right to Own Software
  The Time is NOW for Sobriety Checkpoints in Michigan!
  HR Outsourcing Firms Assist Employers with Changing HR Regulations
  What Is Your Word?
  Victory for Starbucks in Tip-Pooling Class Action
  Silence is NOT Golden

Article Tags: employment law, HR compliance, human resources, labor laws, Supreme Court



Related Forum Posts
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - [quote="ideasuniversity":2w934785]Kevin, Thanks for this post. But please don't take the 10 Recents posts where it is. This is my first point of call when I entered the forum[/quote:2w934785] Hi ideasuniversity, What if we didn't get rid of the "10 Recent Posts", but simply made you click on a link to view it? Or would this be very inconvenient? By listing 10 niche forum topics (with "10 Recent Posts" being one of them), it would allow for more room for social glue ideas and also make navigation through the site easier as well.
Re: New Window/Tab May Inhibit Posters? - Hi Zac - thanks for the suggestion. Are you referring to the Recent Forum Posts section?
Re: New Window/Tab May Inhibit Posters? - Done! The Recent Forum Posts now load in the same window - turned out to be an easy fix! Thanks for the suggestion Zac!
It's hard to find the selected post - Hi Evan, When you click on an item from the "10 Recent Posts" column, a new window will open but it won't take me to the specific post and I'm forced to scroll down the page to look for it. Would you be able to fix this?
Re: For Moderators Forum - Hi Ringo, This is a good idea. Since I came to this thread via a link in the "Recent Forum Posts" without having to sign in, I'm wondering whether THIS is the forum or, if it is, whether access has actually been restricted...? Thanks, David H


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Sales is a Flawed Model

Sales Courage and Resilience

Tips for the Novice Traveler

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.