The 2011 landmark Supreme Court case Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., which denied class certification to 1.5 million former and current female Wal-Mart employees alleging sex discrimination, was widely interpreted as a decision that would doom many employment discrimination class claims. In its wake, the plaintiffs bar has sought new class action strategies.
A recent 7th Circuit decision illustrates one such successful strategy: On Feb. 24, a three-judge panel reversed a district court’s decision in McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith that had denied class certification in a race discrimination case.
