Editor’s Note: Following is an email from Professor Jennifer Freyd with her reflections on a recent significant ruling on her pay equity case, which has been supported by AAUW’s Legal Advocacy Fund. The attached analyses she refers to are not included in this posting. Contact us if you would like to request a copy of them.
Dear Friends,
UO Professor Emerit Jennifer Freyd
On Monday March 15, I and others shared the news that the Ninth Circuit had ruled in favor of my appeal on a pay equity case that day. Since that time there has been some press including several in-depth articles in both Oregon and legal news venues and, among the shorter articles, one that went out via AP News (and was picked up by many papers all over the country). Between these various articles and word of mouth, we have been hearing from many lawyers and advocates, including an appellate lawyer of the US EEOC, expressing interest in the case. The tone of the messages has been positive, conveying the opinion that this Ninth Circuit decision will be very good for pay equity efforts. That means a lot to me.
The full Ninth Circuit still has many Obama and Clinton appointees (and I believe they still constitute a slight majority) but Trump did get many appointees (and thus the Ninth Circuit is not as liberal now as it was). Nonetheless, legal observers have told me the UO was very lucky in the 3-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit selected to hear my appeal — two Bush appointees and one Trump appointee from the Ninth Circuit. We had an uphill battle but we did it – with the Trump appointee dissenting. So many were involved in this effort and I’m very grateful.