Equal Work, Comparable Worth and Disparate Treatment: An Argument for Narrowly Construing County of Washington v. Gunther

Authors

Paul N. Cox

Abstract

The Supreme Court's decision in County of Washington v. Gunther rendered the Equal Protection Act's equal work requirement inapplicable to claims of gender discrimination in compensation brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. It is possible that Gunther will be invoked as a basis for applying the controversial theory of comparable worth to such claims. The author argues, however, that the Supreme Court's rationale in Gunther precludes a comparable worth theory. He then examines alternative possible means of establishing post-Gunther claims under Title VII in terms of that rationale.

First Page

65

Recommended Citation

Paul N. Cox, Equal Work, Comparable Worth and Disparate Treatment: An Argument for Narrowly Construing County of Washington v. Gunther, 22 Duq. L. Rev. 65 (1983).
Available at: https://dsc.duq.edu/dlr/vol22/iss1/4