Seton Hall Professors Can Pursue Wage-Bias Suit, N.J. Supreme Court Rules

A lawsuit filed by three female professors who accuse Seton Hall University of pay discrimination can proceed, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, overturning lower-court decisions to dismiss the women’s claims. The lower courts had accepted the university’s argument that the suit was filed too late, based on a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court opinion that held that such complaints had to be filed within 180 days of when a discriminatory pay decision was originally made. Congress invalidated that decision in the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which allows employees to file a lawsuit within 180 days of any discriminatory paycheck. The New Jersey court cited the Fair Pay Act in its 5-to-1 decision on Tuesday. A university spokesman told The Star-Ledger newspaper it was “too early to tell” whether Seton Hall would continue fighting the lawsuit or seek to settle it.