WATCHING WAL-MART Working women everywhere should pay attention to the legal developments at Wal-Mart, now that a sex-discrimination lawsuit against the store may proceed as a class-action case.  The class action suit may include over 1 million women.  According to plaintiffs, female workers were steered away from management positions. Read about the experience of one plaintiff on The Daily Beast.

WELLPOINT DROPS RESCISSION TACTIC Wellpoint said it will stop dropping healthcare coverage for customers after they get sick as of May 1. The decision came after Democrats from three House of Representatives committees wrote to the health insurer, urging them to stop the practice, known as rescission. It also comes on the heels of a Reuters special report that revealed the health insurer used algorithms to target women with breast cancer for an investigation, with the intent of canceling their policies. The Reuters story sparked a response from Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. All EYES ON YELLEN President Obama nominated Janet Yellen to be vice chair of the Federal Reserve, replacing Don Kohn, who is stepping down. Yellen, currently president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, is seen as a leading contender for the role of Fed chairman, if President Obama is re-elected, the FT reports. That would make her the first female Fed chairman.

In other business news, Forbes came out with their list of top-paid female chief executives in the U.S.. Kraft Food’s Irene Rosenfeld topped the list — her complete compensation package totaled $16.7 million during for her fourth year at the helm of the company. COUGAR=CASH FOR RETAILERS I’m still undecided on my feeling about the term “Cougar” but a UK retail chain credits the phenomenon with boosting sales of sexy lingerie.

IN THE NAVY As early as next year, women will be allowed to serve on U.S. submarines — a symbolical barrier to women in the armed forces. The Navy aims to train an initial group of 19 female officers, who may start serving on ballistic missile and guided missile submarines in late 2011 or early 2012.

Pictured above:

A Wal-Mart store is seen in Roger, Arkansas. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius at the White House in Washington, March 4, 2010. Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Reuters.com asked our readers to let us know what they would like to see in a passenger bill of rights. We compiled the best suggestions in this poll and would like your vote.

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One the eve of the Masters, Nike aired a television commercial featuring Tiger Woods.   The black-and-white spot shows Woods looking directly into the camera while the voice of his late father Earl Woods, in an older recording, speaks in the background, asking “I want to find out what your thinking was, I want to find out what your feelings are, and did you learn anything?”  Tiger does not speak in the ad. Watch the full ad here.

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To the roaring cheers of jilted airline passengers everywhere, new rules to protect travelers will take effect on April 29.

These new rules, being issued by the Department of Transportation, focus mainly on the length of time domestic airlines are allowed to keep passengers locked on a plane on the tarmac.  Some may recall the incident last August when passengers were forced to remain on a plane in Rochester, Minn for six  hours  without a working toilet. After April 29, after three hours of being stuck on a plane, domestic airlines will be forced to let passengers deplane — unless there are safety or security issues.

But the strain on airline travelers never seems to end. In addition to the ever-present delays, the long lines at security checks and the cutbacks by airlines on food offerings, Spirit Air decides it will experiment with carry-on bag fees. This means that travelers will be charged $45 for items placed in the overhead bin. Some analysts, not surprisingly, anticipate a customer backlash.

Is it time to take back the joy in air travel? Reuters.com wants your suggestions on what you think must be included in a passenger bill of rights. Send in your ideas. We’ll compile your suggestions and create an audience inspired bill of airline traveler rights. The best ones will be added to a poll that readers can vote on.

Pictured above: A Northwest Airlines airplane departs Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, November 25, 2009.  REUTERS/Joshua Lott

With hours to go until the iPad hits stores, the big question on my mind is: Will women buy it?

The iPad initially elicited giggles and mockery from women (see the NYT’s story and Fast Company’s story). The catchy but brand damaging term “iTampon” trended on twitter soon after the Apple announcement.

This is no trivial issue for Apple. According to She-conomy, 85 percent of all brand purchases are made by women. In a survey conducted by Retrevo.com, only 7 percent of female respondents said they would buy an iPad.  Unfortunately for Apple, that data sounds consistent with the many female technophiles I’ve heard from. For several reasons, when asked about the much-hyped gadget, many women are keeping a tight grip on their purse strings and just saying “no.” Here’s why:

Functionality

Most female technophiles agree that when it comes to gadgets, women look for tools that will improve their lives by increasing their productivity or saving them time. “I don’t think the iPad does that,” writes Nelly Yusupova, of DigitalWoman via Twitter. “iPad is a beautiful piece of engineering but really it is just a bright, shiny, new gadget to look at and say ohhhh!”

Other women lament the gadgets lack of functionality for their working lives as well.