Court Opinion

ID: 9463695
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 23:13:28.483287+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:38:14.243471
License: Public Domain

CRAVEN, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
I think the statistical evidence establishes a pattern, practice, or custom of discrimination based on sex against female faculty members with respect to compensation, and that the defendants are shown by such evidence to have denied equal pay to female faculty members for the same or similar work performed by male faculty members. *582The advisory jury so found, and I think the district judge abused his discretion in disregarding the advice of the jury.
In the 1972-73 school year, Professor Keyes (the plaintiff) was the lowest paid full professor on the faculty, receiving a salary of $12,134, yet her objective point total (which took into consideration degree, rank, experience and merit) ranked her tenth out of 16. The second highest paid professor was a male whose point score was lower than Mrs. Keyes. These comparisons, although disparate on their face, are admittedly not of compelling significance because they include all of the College’s professors and are not broken down departmentally.
The record does, however, contain a comparison of salaries within the departments —Plaintiff’s Exhibit 13a, “Confidential Salary Information.” Within the Education Department of which Mrs. Keyes was a member, it appears that Mrs. Keyes, who was a full professor, received in 1968-69 a salary of $9,450, whereas male professor Schwarzbek received a salary of $10,206 although he was an associate professor and nontenured and she was a full professor and tenured. The documentary evidence for the Education Department also shows that Mr. Wiener was paid $12,015 when Mrs. Keyes received $11,667, although Mr. Wiener was a nontenured assistant professor and Mrs. Keyes was a tenured full professor.
In the Mathematics Department it appears that Mrs. Hawn received a salary of $9,129 and Mr. Smith a salary of $10,438, although they were of the same rank and Mr. Smith was nontenured and Mrs. Hawn was tenured.
In the English Department Mrs. Swink was paid $6,606 and Mr. Mahan was paid $8,865, although both were of the same rank and nontenured. Also in the English Department Mr. Whitesides was paid $7,695 and Mrs. Jeffers, $5,895, although she was tenured and he was not and they were of the same rank.
Despite this statistical showing, my brothers conclude, as did the district judge, that the College “presented clear and convincing evidence to explain any disparity in salary between males and females, demonstrating that such differentials were based upon legitimate, reasonable and nondiscriminatory factors.” But they point to no such factors (except with respect to the question of whether there was discrimination in being permitted to teach beyond the stated retirement age). Nor can I find in the district court opinion precisely what factors are different that objectively account for pay disparity within departments.
I agree that even within the same department there may be legitimate salary variances and that college administrators may properly take into account the differences of quality in education and in prior teaching experience and other qualitative factors. But the College made no showing below to account for the disparity of pay in the examples I have set forth hereinabove. The record shows, for example, that when asked to explain the difference between the salaries of a man and a woman within the same department, Dr. Bost, the College’s president, responded that he could not say precisely what accounted for the woman’s lower salary. (App. at 663). He was the only witness who attempted to explain the disparities shown by Exhibit 13a.
It is clear that a plaintiff in a case such as this may establish a prima facie case by statistical evidence. Barnett v. W. T. Grant Co., 518 F.2d 543 (4th Cir. 1975). It is also clear to me that the plaintiff here has done so and that the College has failed to satisfactorily explain the disparity in salaries within departments as between males and females.
I would reverse with an instruction to accept the verdict of the advisory jury.