29 U.S.C. sec. She was promoted to quality manager in December 1995. Because Meyer, Demaa, and Neuman were paid higher wages for a job that required equal skill, effort, and responsibility and that involved similar working conditions, Wollenburg made her prima facie case. Once a plaintiff makes a prima facie case, the employer bears the burden of persuasion of showing that the pay disparity stems from a seniority system, a merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or a differential based on any other factor other than sex. Even if a man and woman are doing the same work for different pay, there is no violation if the wage difference stems from a factor other than gender.
Experience is a nondiscriminatory reason for wage disparity.
Comtech says it paid the male supervisors more because they had more relevant experience. Wollenburg does not dispute that Meyer and Demaa's supervisory experience in manufacturing justified their higher wages. She does challenge, however, whether Neuman's 26 years of experience as a grocery store meat manager warranted his being paid 50 cents more per hour than she. Wollenburg notes that she, too, had supervisory experience while managing a Merry Maid subfranchise for 4 years. Managing a cleaning service and managing a meat market seem equally far afield from overseeing an automobile engine parts manufacturing line.