Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Schools Chief Yovino Wins Round at Supreme Court in Equal Pay Case
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 6 years ago on
February 26, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Jim Yovino won a round in the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday in an equal pay case brought by a former math consultant. The Court unanimously threw out a lower court ruling in favor of Aileen Rizo, who sued in 2014 when she learned that the Fresno County Office of Education was paying her less than male colleagues performing the same duties.
Yovino’s appeal to the Supreme Court was based, in part, on the fact that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judge who wrote the majority opinion in favor of Rizo, died before the ruling was released.

Jim Yovino Fresno County Superintendent of Schools
Jim Yovino, Fresno County Superintendent of Schools
In vacating the Ninth Circuit decision, the high court said federal judges can’t rule from beyond the grave. The unsigned order noted “federal judges are appointed for life, not for eternity.” The case was returned to the Court of Appeals for reconsideration.
The decision revolved around Ninth Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who died on March 29, 2018, but was listed as the author of the decision issued 11 days later. A footnote on the decision said that Reinhardt, who was 87, “fully participated in this case” and that voting on it, his opinion and opinions written by other judges were completed and final before his death.
But the Supreme Court said that it was “not aware of any rule or decision of the Ninth Circuit that renders judges’ votes and opinions immutable at some point in time prior to their public release.” The justices wrote that “it is generally understood that a judge may change his or her position up to the very moment when a decision is released.”
“That practice effectively allowed a deceased judge to exercise the judicial power of the United States after his death,” — Excerpt from U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Yovino v. Rizo
The court said that because Reinhardt was no longer a judge when the decision in the case was filed, “the Ninth Circuit erred in counting him as a member of the majority.”
“That practice effectively allowed a deceased judge to exercise the judicial power of the United States after his death,” the justices wrote.
Rizo won her case in federal district court, which challenged FCOE’s policy basing all new employees’ salaries on their prior salaries. FCOE argued the policy didn’t favor men or women, but the district court ruled that basing pay on past salary can perpetuate historical sex discrimination.  A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit overturned the verdict. The full appeals court then agreed to hear the case and ruled in favor of Rizo.
Aileen Rizo
The Supreme Court noted that without Reinhardt’s vote, the majority opinion he authored was only approved by 5 of the 10 judges on the panel hearing the case “who were still living when the decision was filed.” The Supreme Court sent the case back to the Ninth Circuit for reconsideration saying Reinhardt’s vote should not have counted. The high court did not rule on the pay equity question.
It’s unlikely the overarching outcome will change on reconsideration, though. The 11-member Ninth Circuit’s ruling was unanimous, though there was disagreement among judges over legal nuances. Since the time the original case was brought, the pay policy FCOE has been changed. Rizo no longer works for FCOE. She ran an unsuccessful campaign for state Assembly against incumbent Jim Patterson in 2018.
The original case had to do with the federal Equal Pay Act, which generally requires men and women to be paid equally for the same work. The question for the Ninth Circuit panel was whether, under the law, employers can use past salary to justify a disparity in pay. Reinhardt wrote that “Based on the text, history, and purpose of the Equal Pay Act, the answer is clear: No.” Five judges agreed with his reasoning. Five other judges agreed with the outcome, but not with the opinion Reinhardt wrote.
The Supreme Court’s decision aligns with its own practice — that when a justice has voted in a case but dies before a decision is issued their vote doesn’t count. That happened most recently in the case of Justice Antonin Scalia who had voted in cases that were pending at the time of his death in 2016.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

DON'T MISS

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

DON'T MISS

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

DON'T MISS

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

DON'T MISS

Misty Her: Push for Fresno Unified Turnaround Starts Now With ‘Boots on the Ground’

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest 17 in Domestic Violence Crackdown

DON'T MISS

What’s Next for Fresno Smoke Shop Ordinance: Lawsuit, Veto, Override?

DON'T MISS

Visalia Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2019 Fatal Stabbing

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

UP NEXT

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

UP NEXT

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

UP NEXT

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Tased, Arrested After Suspected Reckless DUI in Kerman

UP NEXT

Madera Vehicle Burglary Leads to Arrests, Gang Charges for Juveniles

UP NEXT

Why Texas Is Ahead of California on Bilingual Education

UP NEXT

Beware of Scammers Saying You Won the Publishers Clearing House Drawing

UP NEXT

Abundance Meets Resistance: Are CA Dems Finally Ready to Go All In on Building Housing?

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

56 minutes ago

Misty Her: Push for Fresno Unified Turnaround Starts Now With ‘Boots on the Ground’

1 hour ago

Fresno Police Arrest 17 in Domestic Violence Crackdown

2 hours ago

What’s Next for Fresno Smoke Shop Ordinance: Lawsuit, Veto, Override?

2 hours ago

Visalia Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2019 Fatal Stabbing

3 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

4 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

4 hours ago

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

4 hours ago

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

4 hours ago

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

5 hours ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A couple of weeks ago, Kamala Harris got the full New...

3 minutes ago

3 minutes ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

38 minutes ago

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

A drone view shows containers at the terminals at the port in Kwai Chung in Hong Kong, China, April 3, 2025. (REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo)
41 minutes ago

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

56 minutes ago

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

1 hour ago

Misty Her: Push for Fresno Unified Turnaround Starts Now With ‘Boots on the Ground’

Fresno police are seeking two suspects who stole several boxes of shoes from the WSS store on East Cesar Chavez Boulevard on February 20, 2025.
2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest 17 in Domestic Violence Crackdown

2 hours ago

What’s Next for Fresno Smoke Shop Ordinance: Lawsuit, Veto, Override?

A Tulare County jury convicted Isaiah Elias Garcia, 25, on Friday, March 28, 2025, of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing a man during a 2019 fight in Visalia. (Tulare County DA)
3 hours ago

Visalia Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2019 Fatal Stabbing

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend