Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/10pdf/10-277.pdf
Page Number: 30

26 

WAL-MART STORES, INC. v. DUKES 

Opinion of the Court 

5(g)(2)(A)). 

C 
In  Allison  v.  Citgo  Petroleum  Corp.,  151  F. 3d  402,  415 
(CA5 1998), the Fifth Circuit held that a (b)(2) class would
permit the certification of monetary relief that is “inciden-
tal  to  requested  injunctive  or  declaratory  relief,”  which  it
defined  as  “damages  that  flow  directly  from  liability  to 
the class as a whole on the claims forming the basis of the 
injunctive or declaratory relief.”  In that court’s view, such 
“incidental damage should not require additional hearings
to resolve the disparate merits of each individual’s case; it 
should  neither  introduce  new  substantial  legal  or  factual 
issues, nor entail complex individualized determinations.” 
Ibid.    We  need  not  decide  in  this  case  whether  there  are 
any  forms  of  “incidental”  monetary  relief  that  are  consis-
tent  with  the  interpretation  of  Rule  23(b)(2)  we  have 
announced and that comply with the Due Process Clause.
Respondents do not argue that they can satisfy this stan-
dard, and in any event they cannot. 

Contrary  to  the  Ninth  Circuit’s  view,  Wal-Mart  is  enti-
tled  to  individualized  determinations  of  each  employee’s
eligibility for backpay.  Title VII includes a detailed reme-
dial  scheme.  If  a  plaintiff  prevails  in  showing  that  an
employer has discriminated against him in violation of the 
statute,  the  court  “may  enjoin  the  respondent  from  en-
gaging  in  such  unlawful  employment  practice,  and  order 
such affirmative action as may be appropriate, [including] 
reinstatement  or  hiring  of  employees,  with  or  without 
backpay  . . .  or  any  other  equitable  relief  as  the  court
deems  appropriate.”  §2000e–5(g)(1).  But  if  the  employer 
can  show  that  it  took  an  adverse  employment  action 
against an employee for any reason other than discrimina-
tion, the court cannot order the “hiring, reinstatement, or
promotion of an individual as an employee, or the payment 
to him of any backpay.”  §2000e–5(g)(2)(A).