Sterling Invokes High Court Ruling in Discrimination Case

Sterling Jewelers Inc. might have just gotten a helping hand from the Supreme Court.  And women sales staff who have battled with the retailer for more than a decade, claiming that they have suffered gender discrimination, might face the prospect of pursuing their fight alone.  When workers square off with their employers, the balance of power is usually on the side of the companies, which have the funds and legal fire power to keep on fighting. One key counterbalance for workers has always been their ability to team up — either in public lawsuits or arbitration proceedings — and form a class, or a group of people with similar complaints who can pool resources and share the rewards. But employers gained more clout last week when the Supreme Court made it harder for workers in arbitration to form a class. The retail ripples are already being felt. Sterling is pointing to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela to support its argument that those who haven’t opted-in to the arbitration can’t be a part of it. In the Lamps Plus case, the high court ruled that arbitration clauses refer to individual arbitration, unless the contract clearly allows class claims. The stakes are high for

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