Wal-Mart Stores Inc. faces a class action potentially covering 1 million female employees, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. Women who have worked for Wal-Mart since 2001 can join a class-action discrimination case against the corporation, a divided 9th Circuit ruled.

Wal-Mart, one of the largest, private U.S. employers, is accused of paying women less than men and of giving women fewer promotions. Betty Dukes, a former greeter for the Pittsburg, Calif., Wal-Mart, filed the original suit, along with five other women, in 2001.

Wal-Mart said it would appeal to the Supreme Court. The company denies all accusations and believes that it should be able to fight each claim individually instead of as a group.

The case is Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Read the New York Times coverage of the decision here.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. faces a class action potentially covering 1 million female employees, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. Women who have worked for Wal-Mart since 2001 can join a class-action discrimination case against the corporation, a divided 9th Circuit ruled.

Wal-Mart, one of the largest, private U.S. employers, is accused of paying women less than men and of giving women fewer promotions. Betty Dukes, a former greeter for the Pittsburg, Calif., Wal-Mart, filed the original suit, along with five other women, in 2001.

Wal-Mart said it would appeal to the Supreme Court. The company denies all accusations and believes that it should be able to fight each claim individually instead of as a group.

The case is Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Read the New York Times coverage of the decision here.