Moussouris v. Microsoft (U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit, 2019)

This case highlights the importance of class actions as a means of redress for victims of discrimination. The Ninth Circuit Appeals Court was asked to address whether the analysis and assessment by the Federal District Court in Washington State denying class certification to a proposed class of female engineers alleging systemic and pervasive discrimination was erroneous and created an arbitrary threshold for anecdotal evidence not required by law.

ADL and 29 other civil rights and women’s rights groups signed onto the brief prepared by Impact Fund which argued that the lower court made a critical mistake in failing to consider the individual statements of women in the proposed class, while highlighting clear cases of harassment and discrimination, and underscoring the potentially devasting precedent the lower court’s decision establishes for all potential victims of discrimination. Class certification is an essential mechanism not only for women facing gender bias and discrimination, but for all victims of discrimination.