SIOUX FALLS, S.D. ― The South Dakota Board of Regents is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a former South Dakota State University professor who claims she was paid less than colleagues who were not Black and female.
The Argus Leader reports the board’s lawyers in the response to the lawsuit from Fedora Sutton acknowledge that she was paid less than other professors in her department during her tenure at SDSU, but argue that the disparity was based on her job performance and not sex or race.
Sutton was promoted to full professor in the biology department in 2001. She resigned in 2014.
Sutton’s lawsuit filed in January claims that SDSU has violated the Equal Pay Act. She is seeking compensation equal to the difference between the wages paid to her and those of male employees for equal work.
