Despite the glaring headlines over massive discrimination suits like the recent sex discrimination suit against retail giant Walmart, a new study finds most of these suits are brought by individuals, not classes, and do not always fare well in the justice system.

According to the ABA Law Journal, a new study from the American Bar Foundation announced June 9, found that most employment discrimination cases are filed by individuals who receive only modest settlements, if anything at all. According to one of the study’s authors, “commentators claim that class action lawsuits are quite common. In reality, they make up less than 1 percent of the federal caseload.”

Also according to the study, legal representation is crucial to the outcome of a plaintiff’s case. Without an attorney, the chance of even getting to trial becomes slim. Of the 20 percent of cases where the plaintiff is not represented by a lawyer, over one half of them are dismissed or lose on summary judgment before trial. Others can fall prey to a token settlement offer often given by companies early on in the process.

Research like this is important because understanding the actual statistics of case outcomes may change the public’s perception about what really happens in a discrimination case. This in turn can affect policy and law when legislators consider new discrimination laws, or even whether the current ones work the way we think they should. 

Related Resources:

  • Most Job Discrimination Suits Win, at Best, Small Settlements, Study Says (ABA Law Journal)
  • Majority of Employment Discrimination Litigation is Brought by Individuals (ABF Press Release)
  • Wal-Mart Settles EEOC Sex Discrimination Lawsuit for $11.7M (FindLaw’s Decided)
  • Filing a Charge of Employment Discrimination (FindLaw)
  • Employee Rights (provided by Phillip J. Griego & Associates)
  • Discriminatory Hiring Practices Apparently Increasing During the Recession (provided by Loya and Associates)

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