Page 10-Tuesday, June 9, 1981-The Michigan Do
Court
rules on
sex bias
pay suits
From AP and UPI
WASHINGTON-A woman seeking higher pay may
bring suit charging wage discrimination based on
sex, even if she can't point to a man with the same job
who is paid more, a divided Supreme Court ruled
yesterday.
The 5-4 decision states, in essence, that women
cannot be paid lower wages simply because they are
in jobs held primarily by women. Such a policy would
violate that portion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
outlawing on-the-job sex bias, Justice William Bren-
nan indicated.
THE HIGH court's decision is a first step in an im-
portant new area of law, described by some as the
key civil rights issue of the 1980s.
But the court majority did not endorse a controver-
sial legal theory underlying the case: the idea of
comparable worth. The theory holds that women in
low-paying, traditionally female jobs should be paid
the same wages as men in comparable jobs.
Brennan noted that- the comparable worth issue
was not directly raised in the case, and the court left
that question for another day.
KAREN NUSSBAUM, director of the group
Working Women, said, "For the first time, the 43
million women who work have hope that their jobs
can be evaluated on an equal basis with men's. Every
secretary, bank teller, teacher, and matron in the
nation should feel vindicated."
The court did rule on the complex relationship bet-
ween two federal laws-Title VII of the 1964 Civil
Rights Act, which bars bias in employment based on
race or sex, and the 1963 Equal Pay Act, which
requires equal pay for equal work.
Congress has linked the two laws by incorporating
parts of the Equal Pay Act into the Civil Rights Act,
but not its language requiring equal pay for equal
work, Brennan wrote.
THE COURT dissenters said they believe Congress
intended "there can be no Title VII claim of sex-
based wage discrimination without proof of equal
work."
Yesterday's decision sent the Oregon lawsuit back
to a federal trial court for further proceedings.
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Israelis
destroy
reactor
(Cotiuedfrom Page 1)
warned of "grave consequences."
There was no immediate indication
how the, development could affect the
peace mission of U.S. envoy Philip
Habib who just returned to the Mideast.
Officials declined to say what san-
ctions might be taken against Israel if
the 1952 mutual defense assistance
agreement were breached.
Presumably there could be a cutoff in
further U.S. arms sales, although this
appeared unlikely.
Despite development of its own arms
industry, Israel is heavily dependent on
the United States for its military
security.
In the agreement, Israel gave
assurances that American-made
weapons "are required for, and will be
used solely, to maintain its internal
security, its legitimate self defense" or
in United Nations collective security
arrangements.
At the same time, Israel said, "it will
not undertake any active aggression
against any other state."
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Police arrested a 22-year-old Ann Ar-
bor resident after he allegedly attem-
pted to steal a bicycle from a fraternity
house on the 1000 block of Hill Monday
at 1:45 a.m., police reported yesterday.
Witnesses chased the suspect to Martha
Cook dormitory where they lost sight of
him. Some time later, the bicycle
owner, who was riding with police of-
ficers, spotted the suspect playing
frisbee in front of the Stop-n-Go on E.
University and police apprehended the
suspect.
Another Ann Arbor resident was
arrested and charged with two
breaking and enterings, one on the 300
block of Madison and the other on the
700 block of Oxford. Harvey Lee
Tillman, 34, who had been picked up
earlier for trespassing, was arrested on
the corner of Washtenaw and S.
University in connection with the two
burglaries.
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