The California Supreme Court ruled that a discrimination lawsuit filed (court documents) against Google Inc. should proceed to trial, potentially paving the way for more lawsuits that previously were blocked under a theory that crude and possibly discriminatory workplace comments were merely “stray remarks.”

The ruling Thursday makes it harder for companies in California to defeat discrimination claims at an early stage, and employees are now more likely to get their claims in front of a jury, attorneys specializing in employment law said. More>>