Netflix takes up 2001 Walmart suit

This Jan. 29, 2010, file photo, shows the company logo and view of Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. 
 (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
This Jan. 29, 2010, file photo, shows the company logo and view of Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Netflix has given the green light to produce a miniseries based on the landmark 2001 class-action lawsuit in which about 1.5 million women accused Walmart Inc. of sex discrimination.

The digital streaming service has not announced a release date for the miniseries, titled "Kings of America."

Netflix said in a news release that the show follows "three powerful women whose lives were inextricably intertwined with the world's largest company: a Walmart heiress, a maverick executive, and a longtime Walmart saleswoman and preacher who dared to fight against the retail giant in the biggest class-action lawsuit in U.S. history."

Betty Dukes, who died in 2017, was a greeter at a Walmart store in California when she and five other employees sued the Bentonville-based retailer in 2001. They claimed they were paid less than male colleagues, who also received more promotions. The U.S. Supreme Court ended the case in 2011 by dissolving the certified class.

Walmart had argued that it had a strong nondiscriminatory policy in place well before the suit was filed. In a brief statement Thursday, Walmart said, "We are proud of the progress we've made as a company on treating all of our associates with respect."

Actress Amy Adams will star in an as-yet-determined role. Journalist Jess Kimball Leslie will write the miniseries.

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