In the American legal system, people generally bring civil claims as individuals. But if a lot of people have similar claims, they may try to bring a class action lawsuit.
在美国法律体系中,人们通常以个人身份进行民事诉讼。但如果许多人有共同的诉讼主张,他们可以尝试提起集体诉讼。
Michael Dorf is a law professor at Cornell University.
迈克尔·多夫(Michael Dorf)是康奈尔大学的一位法学教授。
MICHAEL DORF: "A class action is a procedural device under US law that allows a large group of people to bring their individual claims together as a group."
多夫:“根据美国法律,集体诉讼是一种允许一大群人作为一个集体提起民事诉讼的程序性手段。”
_______________________________________________That happened this week to a million and a half current and former employees of America's largest private employer. The women accuse Wal-Mart of discriminating against female employees in its stores. But the United States Supreme Court voted to block a huge class action against Wal-Mart in federal court.
本周,这一幕就发生在美国的最大私营企业的150万前任与现任雇员身上。这些女雇员指控沃尔玛百货在其门店中歧视女性员工。但美国最高法院未能批准这些女雇员在联邦法院对沃尔玛发起庞大的集体诉讼。