A two-year-old gender discrimination lawsuit filed by Francine Katz, once the top female executive at Anheuser-Busch, is finally on its way to trial.
The St. Louis Business Journal reports that the Missouri Supreme Court yesterday upheld a June 14 state appeals court ruling that Katz's case does not have to be settled by arbitration.
From the Business Journal:
"We are very excited. This is what we wanted all along: to bring this case to trial," said Mary Anne Sedey, who represents Katz, A-B’s former vice president of communications and consumer affairs. Peter Johnson, associated general counsel for Anheuser-Busch, said today’s decision "has no impact on our opinion that her claims are without merit."
Katz's 2009 suit charges that she was consistently paid less than male executives with similar experience or responsibilities, and that the company encouraged a locker-room culture that excluded women from important social networks.
No date has been set for the start of the trial.
