You learn a lot of things when you read court cases. For example, I just learned that there is such a thing as a Class A Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor License, and that it’s pretty valuable. Mr. Proffitt, the HVAC Foreman in Alief ISD had this license. And on top of his salary, the district paid him $800/month for the right to use his license.
When Mr. Proffitt retired, the district turned to Rosemary Tooker. She had the same license, and agreed to let the district use it. But they paid her only $400/month.
This sounds like a very simple case of sex discrimination, and it would be if those were the only facts. However, it turned out that Mr. Proffitt had three licenses, not one. He was paid $400 for the AC and Refrigeration license, and $200 each for the other two, for a total package of $800. Ms. Tooker had one license, and she was paid the same amount for that license as Mr. Proffitt. Case dismissed.
This case involved multiple other issues. We’re going to highlight one of those on Wednesday. So keep coming back.
The case is Tooker v. Alief ISD, decided by the 14th Court of Appeals on January 4, 2017.
DAWG BONE: IN A LAWSUIT, THE FACTS MATTER. ALL OF THEM.
File this one under: SEX DISCRIMINATION