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(Des Moines, IA) -- A professor emeritus at Iowa State can pursue more than a decade's worth of damages in a wage discrimination lawsuit. That's according to a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling.
Dr. Sylvia Cianzio worked at the university for 40 years, and claims she was paid significantly less than her male counterparts. Ann Brown represented her before the court.
"The damage provision has to overcome the financial benefit that the employer obtains by paying women less or it doesn't work," Brown argues. "From 2009 through Dr. Cianzio's retirement, Iowa State saved $530,000 by paying her less than her male colleagues."
That's where the disagreement came in: how much does Iowa State actually owe her? Brown argues she should be able to recover what was lost since 2009, when the Iowa legislature amended the Iowa Civil Rights Act to include provisions for wage discrimination. The state, however, argues in this case that there's a statute which says she's owed for 300 days' loss prior to when she first filed the claim.
Breanne Stoltze represented them.
"Equal pay doesn't become more or less discriminatory based on the amount of paychecks," Stoltze argues.
In its opinion, the court unanimously sides with Dr. Cianzio.
"These statutes of limitations set the time limit by which a party must pursue an action or claim, but they have no necessary relationship to the damages available for an action or claim that is timely filed," it reads in part.
The case is sent back to a lower court for further proceedings.