What Do 1.5 Million Wal-Mart Women Have in Common?: Dukes v. Wal-Mart Class Action Certification

Abstract

On April 26, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc in Dukes v. Wal-Mart, held that Rule 23 commonality and typicality existed among 1.5 million women employees of Wal-Mart claiming gender discrimination in the company’s hiring and promotion practices. This Comment addresses the commonality prong and argues that courts should be reluctant to certify a class of plaintiffs in employment cases when a company’s hiring practices are as subjective and localized as Wal-Mart’s.