Issue: Gender discrimination

Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No. 04-03341-EMC (N.D. Cal.).

Lieff Cabraser served as Co-Lead Counsel for current and former female employees who charge that Costco discriminates against women in promotions to management positions.

In January 2007, the Court certified a class consisting of over 750 current and former female Costco employees nationwide who were denied promotion to General Manager or Assistant Manager since January 3, 2002. Costco appealed. In September 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit remanded the case to the district court to make class certification findings consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, 131 S.Ct. 2541 (2011).

In September 2012, U.S. District Court Judge Edward M. Chen granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and certified two classes of over 1,250 current and former female Costco employees, one for injunctive relief and the other for monetary relief. On May 27, 2014, the Court approved an $8 million settlement.

For more information about the Costco gender discrimination lawsuit, visit genderclassactionagainstcostco.com.