Opinion ID: 425244
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Dr. Jean Ferguson

Text: 44 Plaintiff Ferguson has been at OCE since 1969, a full professor since 1979. She participates in the elementary block program and teaches classes entitled Learning and Instruction in the Elementary and Intermediate Schools, Teaching Reading in the Primary Grades, Teaching Reading in the Intermediate Grades, Diagnostic and Remedial Techniques of Reading, and Methods and Materials in Language Arts. Every four to six terms, Dr. Ferguson teaches a series of 3-hour courses or supervises student teachers. Her other duties include participation on various college committees, service on national and state accreditation teams and, at the time of trial, presiding over OCE's Faculty Senate. Dr. Ferguson's salary at the time of trial was $20,174. 45 Dr. Ferguson's comparator was Dr. Gerald Girod. Dr. Girod, like Dr. Ferguson, teaches in the elementary block program. He has supervised student teachers more frequently than Dr. Ferguson. Outside of the block program, Dr. Girod's courses have focused upon psychology, research procedures, and curriculum, while Dr. Ferguson's courses, as listed above, concern reading and language arts. Dr. Girod serves on many college committees. At the time of trial, he earned an annual salary of $21,266. 46 Dr. Ferguson's prima facie case is not as strong as the two other Elementary/Secondary Education plaintiffs, but it is strong enough to withstand clearly erroneous review. Both Dr. Ferguson and Dr. Girod devoted the bulk of their time to general preparation of teachers for the elementary grades. While the education specialties of the two teachers diverged outside of the block program, we cannot say that the divergence was so significant as to make the district court's finding clear error. Indeed, OCE has pointed to nothing in the record that would indicate any substantial difference in job content during the relevant 1980-81 school year. The joint and primary duties of Drs. Ferguson and Girod in the elementary block program is sufficient evidence to support a determination that the two teachers were similarly situated ... in the teaching structure. Melanson v. Rantoul, 536 F.Supp. 271, 287 (D.R.I.1982). B. OCE's Affirmative Defenses 47 Upon establishment of a prima facie case of sex discrimination, the burden shifted to OCE to establish that the differential in wages paid to workers of opposite sex was the result of (i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any other factor other than sex. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 206(d)(1); Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, 417 U.S. 188, 196, 94 S.Ct. 2223, 2229, 41 L.Ed.2d 1 (1974). 48 The district court found that the differentials in salary between the Elementary/Secondary Education plaintiffs and their male comparators were caused by the higher wages received by the male teachers when they began their employment with OCE. The court found that salary increases at OCE tend to perpetuate the differential in starting salaries. All parties seem to accept this conclusion as correct. 49 Salary differentials that stem from unequal starting salaries do not violate the Equal Pay Act if the original salary inequity can be justified by one of the four exceptions to the Equal Pay Act. In other words, salary differentials based on unequal starting salaries do not violate the Equal Pay Act if the employer can show that the original disparity was based on a legitimate factor other than sex. See Padway v. Palches, 665 F.2d 965, 969-70 (9th Cir.1982). 50 OCE presented considerable evidence that at the times of hiring, the male comparators deserved higher salaries than their respective female counterparts based on the abilities or capabilities of the teachers or the needs of the institution. 7 The court declined to make a finding as to whether OCE succeeded in proving that the salary differentials were legitimate. Instead, the court stated: 51 Each teacher brought to OCE unique qualities, experiences, and educational backgrounds. The court has no way to compare the value of 1949 dollars with 1959 dollars. The court does not know the teacher supply and demand for 1949, 1959, 1965, or 1969, nor does it know OCE's budget constraints or the competing needs of different departments during those years. There are many other factors that would be needed in order for the court to attempt to determine, using only these six teachers, whether the reasons for the differences in their starting salaries are related to sex. In fact, it is the court's opinion that such a determination cannot be made by scrutinizing the facts surrounding the hiring of six people, even if all of the factors mentioned above were known. 52 Slip op. at 27. Because of these enumerated difficulties, the court did not even address OCE's rebuttal arguments. Rather, the court relied upon statistical evidence showing that, on the whole, female OCE faculty members are paid less than male OCE faculty members, as the sole ground for determining that the salary differentials in the Elementary/Secondary Education Department could not be justified by a factor other than sex. This was clear error requiring remand for further factfinding. 53 We agree with the district court that it is difficult to evaluate whether a pay differential is or is not based on a factor other than sex. But that does not mean that the question can be avoided by reference to generalized and, we think, irrelevant data. The question for each plaintiff is: Can OCE justify a starting wage lower than her comparator? If so, OCE has satisfied its burden, regardless of whether, on the whole, male faculty members earn more than female faculty members. It is irrelevant that the individual plaintiffs were hired in different years in light of the court's specific holding that all differentials were caused by starting salaries. The evidence shows that as a matter of fact, only Dr. Hiatt was hired in a year different from her comparator; this difference in starting years only makes it more difficult to determine whether Dr. Hiatt started at a relatively lower salary than Dr. Garrison, a question that the court specifically decided in the affirmative. 54 It is true that each faculty member considered here brought unique qualities to OCE. This special characteristic of an academic community, the uniqueness of its members, serves to emphasize the necessity for a thorough and sensitive appraisal of OCE's affirmative defenses. Post-hoc rationalizations, of course, will not permit OCE to carry its burden of proving the legitimacy of its payment of unequal starting salaries. However, as part of a sensitive inquiry into the roots of the salary differentials, it must be remembered that [t]he Equal Pay Act entrusts employers, not judges, with making the often uncertain decision of how to accomplish business objectives. Kouba v. Allstate Insurance Co., 691 F.2d 873, 876 (9th Cir.1982) (citation omitted). On remand, if OCE can justify the differentials with legitimate institutional interests, the court should be slow to reject OCE's defense unless it determines that OCE's justifications do not reasonably explain the differences in starting salaries. See id. at 878. In this way, the court can steer a careful course between excessive intervention in the affairs of the university and the unwarranted tolerance of unlawful behavior. Powell v. Syracuse University, 580 F.2d 1150, 1154 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 984, 99 S.Ct. 576, 58 L.Ed.2d 656 (1978). V