The Latest: Superintendent to appeal equal pay ruling

SAN FRANCISCO — The Latest on a ruling by a U.S. appeals court that women can’t be paid less than men based on their salary at a previous job (all times local):

1:15 p.m.

The superintendent of a California school district says he will appeal a ruling in an equal pay lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The statement came Monday after an 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in favour of a Fresno County school employee who said she was paid less than her male counterparts for the same work based on her previous salary.

In announcing the appeal, county Superintendent of Schools Jim Yovino said the policy of his office for determining salaries did not discriminate on the basis of gender.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote that allowing pay differences based on previous salaries would perpetuate wage gaps between men and women that are based on discrimination in the job market.

Reinhardt — considered among the most liberal members of the 9th Circuit — wrote the opinion before he died last month.

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11 a.m.

A U.S. appeals court says women can’t be paid less than men based on their salary in a previous job.

A unanimous 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday that pay differences for the same work based on prior salaries were discriminatory under the federal Equal Pay Act.

The decision overturned a decision by a smaller panel of 9th Circuit judges that had been criticized by equal pay advocates.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in Monday’s ruling that allowing pay differences based on previous salaries would perpetuate wage gaps between men and women.

The ruling said those differences were based on discrimination in the job market.

Reinhardt was considered among the most liberal members of the court. He wrote the opinion before he died last month.