The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled it was not illegal for Des Moines Area Community College to pay a man a significantly higher salary than a woman who was doing the same work.
DMACC hired Sandra Seldon in 2013 to work in its IT department. Six years later, she learned the salary for a male colleague doing the same work was $26,000 more than hers. Seldon sued, arguing the salary she was initially offered was too low and, after she raised pay equity issues with her boss, the school had retaliated against her application for a different job at DMACC.
In 2021, a jury awarded Seldon nearly $1.4 million in back pay and for pain and suffering. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled DMACC proved Seldon’s male colleague had more experience when he was hired and 15 years more seniority when Seldon started at the school. The court also ruled Seldon did not have the right degree for the promotion she sought.