Washington Post, "Costco Is the Latest Class-Action Target"

          In a case filed yesterday in San Francisco, a Costco assistant warehouse manager alleged that the Issaquah, Wash., retailer did not announce openings for higher-paying managerial jobs, relying instead on a "tap on the shoulder" by top-level male executives to pick other men for higher-level positions. Although Costco's U.S. workforce of 78,000 is nearly 50 percent female, fewer than 1 in 6 senior managers are women, according to the lawsuit, which seeks to represent about 650 women.
          Lead plaintiff Shirley "Rae" Ellis, who has worked for Costco for six years, said she was surprised when she started to feel discriminated against, "but it's surprising when you find out how few women are involved in the more senior ranks of companies. I don't think there are very many women in charge in this United States. It's unfortunate," she said.
          "Courts have finally gotten around to looking at these larger issues, looking at larger companies," said a partner with Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP who is involved in the Costco case.

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