Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Wal-Mart Lawsuit: Sexual Discrimination Case Hearing Today
Aired September 24, 2003 - 06:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And time again for a little business buzz. Wal-Mart is headed to court today to hear whether its sexual discrimination lawsuit will be considered class action. Let's find out how big this is for the retail giant.
Carrie Lee is back with us from the Nasdaq market site in New York.
Carrie, what do you think?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it could potentially be very big. Let me give you the story here. Wal- Mart heading to a San Francisco court hearing today that will determine whether the sexual discrimination lawsuit against the company will step up to class action status. And if it does, that means 1.5 million current and former female Wal-Mart employees will be involved very large amount, obviously. This would be the largest civil rights lawsuit ever. The number of plaintiffs involved in that class action lawsuit, by the way, is equivalent to the population of Philadelphia. So just to put this in perspective a little bit.
Now this is all according to published reports. The lawsuit was filed back in June of 2001 and it accuses Wal-Mart of discriminating against women in pay and promotions. It would cover female workers going back to 1998. Wal-Mart, for its part, says it doesn't think that the case will make it to class action. A decision may not immediately be made by the judge, but clearly, Carol, a very big day for Wal-Mart. A lot of people watching this story because it could have implications for other retailing companies.
LIN: Right. And folks are watching the market overall. How are things shaping up on the futures?
LEE: Looking a bit bullish after a nice session yesterday, a nice late day rally. The Dow up about one half a percent. The Nasdaq gaining 27 points. As you can see, that's a gain of almost 1.5 percent.
After the bell last night, Cisco Systems gained over $2. They are expanding their share buyback program from $13 billion to $20 billion. That's usually seen as a sign of confidence in the company by investors. So we'll be watching Cisco, as well as technology, and things looking pretty good so far.
Back to you.
LIN: The bulls are running today. Thanks, Carrie. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Today>
Aired September 24, 2003 - 06:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And time again for a little business buzz. Wal-Mart is headed to court today to hear whether its sexual discrimination lawsuit will be considered class action. Let's find out how big this is for the retail giant.
Carrie Lee is back with us from the Nasdaq market site in New York.
Carrie, what do you think?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it could potentially be very big. Let me give you the story here. Wal- Mart heading to a San Francisco court hearing today that will determine whether the sexual discrimination lawsuit against the company will step up to class action status. And if it does, that means 1.5 million current and former female Wal-Mart employees will be involved very large amount, obviously. This would be the largest civil rights lawsuit ever. The number of plaintiffs involved in that class action lawsuit, by the way, is equivalent to the population of Philadelphia. So just to put this in perspective a little bit.
Now this is all according to published reports. The lawsuit was filed back in June of 2001 and it accuses Wal-Mart of discriminating against women in pay and promotions. It would cover female workers going back to 1998. Wal-Mart, for its part, says it doesn't think that the case will make it to class action. A decision may not immediately be made by the judge, but clearly, Carol, a very big day for Wal-Mart. A lot of people watching this story because it could have implications for other retailing companies.
LIN: Right. And folks are watching the market overall. How are things shaping up on the futures?
LEE: Looking a bit bullish after a nice session yesterday, a nice late day rally. The Dow up about one half a percent. The Nasdaq gaining 27 points. As you can see, that's a gain of almost 1.5 percent.
After the bell last night, Cisco Systems gained over $2. They are expanding their share buyback program from $13 billion to $20 billion. That's usually seen as a sign of confidence in the company by investors. So we'll be watching Cisco, as well as technology, and things looking pretty good so far.
Back to you.
LIN: The bulls are running today. Thanks, Carrie. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Today>
