Costco Wholesale Corp. workers have won the gender bias suit in group against the retailer, the Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco certified a class, or group, of plaintiffs, seeking monetary relief that includes several hundred women employed since 2002 who have been subject to the Issaquah, Washington-based company’s system for promotion to management positions, the news agency said.
Costco “offers numerous competing explanations for the observed gender disparity in promotions,” Chen said in Monday’s ruling. “None of these explanations undermine the companywide nature of the challenged policies and their disparate effects.”
Costco, the biggest U.S. warehouse-club chain, was sued in 2004 for allegedly limiting promotions of female employees to assistant general manager and general manager by failing to post job openings. The company denies the claims.
Costco outlets in Korea have recently caused controversy as they have proceeded with their business on weekends against the regulations of local governments which ban super supermarkets(SSM) or corporate supermarkets from doing business on holidays.