Political Quotes

“Today, I am pleased to join Senator Franken to introduce the Equal Employment Opportunity Restoration Act of 2012. This important legislation will respond to the Supreme Court's decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, and restore women's ability to challenge discrimination in the workplace. Today marks the 1 year anniversary of that case--where just five Justices disqualified the claims of 1.5 million women who had spent nearly a decade seeking justice for sex discrimination by their employer, Wal-Mart. By a 5 4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the women did not share enough in common to support bringing a class action. Perhaps more troubling, just five Justices said that Wal-Mart could not have had a discriminatory policy against all of them, because it left its payment decisions to the local branches of its stores. In reaching this conclusion, the Supreme Court provided a clear path for corporations to avoid company-wide sex discrimination suits, and made it harder to hold corporations accountable under our historic civil rights laws. Betty Dukes has worked for Wal-Mart, where she started as a part-time cashier in Pittsburg, California, for almost 20 years. Throughout her years at Wal-Mart, Betty expressed an interest in advancement and in the management track. Unfortunately, she was continually overlooked for promotions, receiving only one in her lengthy career there.…”