Faculty senate to discuss motion in support of Freyd suit Wednesday

Posted by alicee on
Faculty senate to discuss motion in support of Freyd suit Wednesday

The UO Senate will be discussing a motion on the Jennifer Freyd Equal Pay Act law suit at the senate meeting on Wednesday, April 28. The Senate resolution would support Freyd's suit proceeding to a jury trial, which UO administration has been attempting to block. Here is the description:
This resolution by the University of Oregon Senate states the Senate’s support for the outcome of the March 15th 2021 judgment of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which required a trial on the issue of whether UO Professor of Psychology Emerit Jennifer Freyd is entitled to relief under Equal Pay Act, and it states the Senate’s opposition to the Administration’s appealing and seeking to establish a precedent that would limit faculty and other professionals from redress of pay discrimination under the Equal Pay Act.
The full motion can be found here.  Faculty members wishing to cosponsor the resolution should contact Beatrice Dohrn or Bill Harbaugh.
On March 15, 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted Freyd's appeal in a pay inequity lawsuit filed in March 2017, ordering the pay inequity case back to the district court to proceed to a jury trial.

On March 29, the UO administration filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit for rehearing en banc and issued a press release and circulated it on campus via AroundtheO about their petition.

Last week, the Ninth Circuit has ruled that: “Appellee’s petition for rehearing en banc, filed March 29, 2021, is DENIED."   That is, the March 15 decision stands. As such, the case will go back to the district court for a jury trial unless the UO administration initiates an appeal to the US Supreme Court.

"I am pleased to report that the court recognized that the Equal Pay Act applies in professional settings and that courts cannot break down jobs into tiny pieces," Freyd said in an email. "They recognized our claim that practices like retention raises can result in discrimination that is against the law. This is not just a victory for me. It sends a strong message of support to so many women who continue to struggle against pay discrimination. I hope that the University of Oregon will now move forward in the spirit of equity and justice."

For more on some of the implication of this case for many others at UO, see: