Jenkins v. United States

46 Fed. Cl. 561, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 73, 83 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 28, 2000 WL 514100
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedApril 28, 2000
DocketNo. 98-848 C
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 46 Fed. Cl. 561 (Jenkins v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jenkins v. United States, 46 Fed. Cl. 561, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 73, 83 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 28, 2000 WL 514100 (uscfc 2000).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

HEWITT, Judge.

Plaintiffs Complaint in this matter alleges a violation of the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d) (1994) (the Act) by defendant. Plaintiff asserts that she was paid less than a male co-worker for performing substantially equal work.

On November 24, 1993, plaintiff filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (district court) asserting violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Age Discrimination and Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), § 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act), and the Equal Pay Act. Jenkins v. Widnall, No. 2:93-CV-1201 (S.D. Ohio filed Nov. 24, 1993). The district court dismissed plaintiff’s claims under Title VII, the ADEA, and the Rehabilitation Act as untimely. The district court denied a motion by the government for summary judgment on plaintiff’s Equal Pay Act claim. See District Court Order filed November 30, 1995. The district court later determined that because plaintiffs claim might exceed [562]*562the $10,000 statutory limit under the little Tucker Act, the case must be transferred to this court. See District Court Orders filed May 20, 1998 and June 10, 1998; see also 28 U.S.C. § 1346(a)(2) (1994).

After receiving the case, this court held a status conference with the parties. The court declined to entertain another proposed motion for summary judgment by the government and issued an order stating that the determinations made by the district court stand as the law of the case. See Order filed April 5, 1999 (citing Christianson v. Colt Industries Operating Corp., 486 U.S. 800, 108 S.Ct. 2166, 100 L.Ed.2d 811 (1988)). This court then severed the claims that had been dismissed by the district court and issued pretrial orders in the Equal Pay Act claim. See Orders filed April 5, April 15, May 7 and June 9, 1999. Plaintiffs Equal Pay Act claim is now before the court following a trial on the merits.

I. Background

The setting for the events that give rise to this case is the Aerospace Guidance and Metrology Center (AGMC) at the Newark Air Force Base, Ohio.1 The AGMC was established in 1962 to “maintain the guidance systems and precise calibration of new, high-tech Air Force equipment.” Aaron Renenger, Ceremony ends 35 years of service at Newark AFB (visited Apr. 24, 2000) <http://www.af.mil/news/Sepl996/nl9960926_ 960977.html> (Renenger). The AGMC’s first repair activities involved Atlas and Minuteman missile guidance systems. See id. In 1965, the AGMC’s work expanded to include aircraft navigation systems. See id. During the Cold War, the AGMC played a role in maintaining the balance of nuclear power by keeping Minuteman and Peacekeeper missiles in a constant alert status. See id.

The period of time relevant to this matter is November 1990 until plaintiffs retirement in March 1993 (the relevant time period).2 During the relevant time period, both plaintiff and David G. Morgan, the male co-worker with whose job duties plaintiff compares her job duties, worked in the Directorate of Maintenance (the directorate), which is a subdivision of the AGMC. Within the Directorate of Maintenance, plaintiff and Mr. Morgan worked in the Product Engineering Division (engineering division). Among other things, the engineering division “provided engineering support and surveillance of AGMC repaired inertial navigation and guidance systems, subsystems and instruments.” See Plaintiffs Exhibit 1 at p. 9. The engineering division also “provided software engineering and programming support for all AGMC automatic test equipment (ATE).” See id.

In 1993, after the AGMC had been operating at Newark Air Force Base for more than 30 years, the Realignment and Closure Commission recommended its closure. See Renenger, supra. After a period of downsizing, the AGMC officially closed on September 30, 1996. See id.

II. Discussion

A. Equal Pay Act Generally

The Equal Pay Act was enacted in 1963 as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219 (1994). See Elli[563]*563son v. United States, 25 Cl.Ct. 481, 486 (1992). The “fundamental purpose of the Act was to remedy disparities in pay arising from traditional concepts of gender.” Id. (citing Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, 417 U.S. 188, 195, 94 S.Ct. 2228, 41 L.Ed.2d 1 (1974)).

The Equal Pay Act provides in pertinent part:

No employer ... shall discriminate ... between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees ... at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to (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. § 206(d)(1). As can be seen from the plain language of the statute, it is unnecessary for plaintiff to establish that the reason for the disparity in pay between herself and the comparable male employee is the result of a sex bias. See Molden v. United States, 11 Cl.Ct. 604, 610 (1987). It is also unnecessary for plaintiff to show that a disparity in wages is the result of a discriminatory practice on the part of defendant.3 See id. at 610-11.

To establish a prima facie case under the Equal Pay Act, plaintiff must show that her employer, the United States, paid a male employee higher wages than plaintiff for work “requir[ing] similar ski]l[], effort, and responsibilities] under similar working conditions.” See id.; see also Corning Glass Works, 417 U.S. at 195, 94 S.Ct. 2223; Ellison, 25 Cl.Ct. at 486. The parties are in agreement that the legal test is not, as the language of the statute might appear to suggest, whether plaintiff and Mr. Morgan were performing identical work. See Joint Statement of Issues of Fact and Law (Joint Statement) at 1. The test is whether the work performed by plaintiff and the comparable male employee is “substantially equal.” See 26 C.F.R. § 1620.13(a); see also Joint Statement at 1.

In comparing the employees’ jobs, the court’s focus must be on the primary duties of each job. See Ellison, 25 Cl.Ct. at 487 (citing Goodrich v. International Bhd. of Elec. Workers,

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46 Fed. Cl. 561, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 73, 83 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 28, 2000 WL 514100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jenkins-v-united-states-uscfc-2000.