Legal Advocacy Fund Cases
Fish et al. v. St. Cloud State University
Case History
Marjorie Fish, Kathleen Gill, Jill Goemer, Christine Jazwinski, and Lora Robinson were the named plaintiffs in a class action suing St. Cloud State University, one of the seven campuses in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system (MnSCU), for pay inequity. Approximately 300 women employed by St. Cloud State were covered by the class action suit. The plaintiffs alleged that women earn lower initial salaries, receive fewer and slower promotions, and work in a sexually hostile environment. MnSCU attempted a pay equity review from 1991 to 1994, but the review failed to correct the inequities in the system. The plaintiffs thus complained as representatives for all women impacted by MnSCU’s discriminatory practices. They filed as a class, first with the EEOC in March 1995 and then in federal court in June 1996. In March 1998 the court granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification defining three classes: compensation; promotion and/or tenure; and terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.
In December 2000 the plaintiffs reached a settlement with the university. Under the terms, St. Cloud was ordered to pay $600,000 in back pay to 250 women who were employed by the university between 1992 and 1998. In addition, 60 women who were faculty at the time of the settlement would receive pay increases totaling $170,786 per year. Finally, the five original plaintiffs would receive an additional $60,000 to divide among themselves. The settlement totaled more than $830,000 and exceeded $2 million after factoring in the increase in base salaries, back pay, and benefits.
The plaintiffs are still employed at the university. They use the awards from AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund as the basis for fundraising campaigns among class members. In addition, they continue to visit AAUW branches and states and initiated a letter-writing campaign. The letter-writing campaign was successful with AAUW members sending messages to various authorities, such as the governor, attorney general, the MnSCU chancellor, and state legislators.
Key Issue
Pay inequity