Legal Advocacy Fund Cases

Case History
Sonia Goltz, a former assistant professor in the Department of Management at the University of Notre Dame's College of Business Administration, sued the university for sex discrimination in the denial of tenure in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and pay inequity in violation of Title VII and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.

Goltz began her employment at Notre Dame in 1987. She alleged that throughout her employment, she and other female faculty in the College of Business Administration were subjected to a hostile work environment and were assigned extra duties and responsibilities than were their male colleagues. In addition, Goltz claimed that the university unfairly denied her the opportunity to “stop the tenure clock” upon the birth of her child, which made her record appear weaker in comparison to her colleagues.

In 1993, the university denied tenure to Goltz. She alleged that the hostile work environment and disparate treatment that she and other female faculty faced within the College of Business Administration affected their abilities to achieve sufficient qualifications for tenure. At the time of her tenure denial, the university had never granted tenure to a woman on the faculty of the College of Business Administration.

Goltz filed suit in federal court in 1996. Following trial in 1998, a jury found in favor of Notre Dame.