The nation's highest court(法庭) will hear arguments Tuesday in a case pitting employee rights advocates against corporate America(美国大企业), and the outcome(结果) could have a sweeping(范围广大的) impact on working women and the work world at large(普遍地).
The Supreme Court(最高法院) will hear arguments in a gender(性别) discrimination case against retailing behemoth(零售业巨头) Wal-Mart over pay and promotions for some 1.5 million female employees, current and former, dating to 1998. At issue(在争议中的) is whether this large group of women should be allowed to proceed with a suit(诉讼案) en masse(全体的，一同的).
With their decision, the high court justices could make it easier for large groups of employees to band together(联合起来) and against colossal(巨大的) companies such as Wal-Mart or make it harder by limiting how many of them can join forces to try to change company policies and extract(提取) monetary(货币的，金融的) damages.
If the plaintiffs(原告) win and are allowed to proceed with the largest class-action lawsuit ever, potentially worth billions of dollars, “it would be an extremely significant victory,” said Sarah Crawford, director of workplace fairness for the National Partnership for Women and Families. A decision for the plaintiffs would send a message to employers about fair treatment for women, she said.
A decision in favor of Wal-Mart, the nation's largest private employer could mean that millions of women, many of them working low-wage jobs, "could go without a remedy(药品，治疗方法) for unlawful discrimination," she said.
Advocates(拥护者，辩护律师) for big business are watching the case equally closely. A decision allowing such a massive class action would have a negative(消极的，负面的) effect on large companies, said John Wester, an employment attorney(代理人，律师) for Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson in Charlotte, N.C.
“Employers across the country would tremble,” he said.