Wal-mart, a major US retailer, has over 1.39 million employees in the United States. In 2004, a case involving work place discrimination in Wal-mart stores was brought to trial. Statistical analysis of the compensation practices of the company showed that throughout the nation, women working for Wal-mart received less compensation than their male counterparts. Additionally, women made up a majority of Wal-mart's hourly workforce, while few women were found in higher ranking positions in the company. The case, which represented 1.6 million past and present female employees of Wal-mart, was determined to be a class-action sex discrimination case by the ruling judge. This gave the 1.6 million women the right to sue Wal-mart for sex discrimination as a group.