''Corning Glass Works v Brennan '

(1974) is a

US labor law United States labor law sets the rights and duties for employees, labor unions, and employers in the US. Labor law's basic aim is to remedy the " inequality of bargaining power" between employees and employers, especially employers "organized in ...

case, concerning

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

Facts

Brennan and others, who were employed at the Corning Glass Works, claimed unlawful discrimination because men worked on night shifts and were paid more, while women were only allowed to work on day shifts and were paid less. The employer argued that there was no unequal pay, because the jobs were different: the time of day when work was performed should be considered when determining if 'working conditions' were sufficiently similar. They argued this was a legitimate defense, that pay differences result from a seniority or merit system unrelated to sex under the

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and " time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits employment of minors in "oppre ...

, 29 USC §206(d)(1).

Judgment

The Supreme Court held that although women plaintiffs worked at different times in the day, compared to male colleagues, the working conditions were "sufficiently similar" and the claim was allowed. 'Working conditions' means both 'surroundings' and 'hazards' .https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/417/188/ Star Page 202

Notes

{{reflist, 2 United States employment discrimination case law United States gender discrimination case law 1974 in United States case law 1974 in labor relations

Facts

Judgment

See also

Notes