Facts
On December 30, 1994/October 23, 1995, five kindergarten teachers from the municipality of Däniken filed a lawsuit against the Canton of Solothurn and the municipality of Däniken. They claimed that their wage (salary class 14) was gender-discriminatory and demanded the retroactive payment of the difference between their wages and 90% of the wages of primary school teachers from 1990 or, from January 1, 1996, a salary corresponding to salary class 17.
The Administrative Court obtained an expert opinion on labor science, which concluded that the function of the kindergarten teachers was one salary class lower than that of primary school teachers. However, it assumed that the working hours of the kindergarten teachers were around 10% lower than those of the primary school teachers. Therefore, it reduced the classification of the kindergarten teachers to salary class 15.
The kindergarten teachers then filed an administrative court appeal to the Federal Court, requesting that they be paid a salary corresponding to salary class 17 from January 1, 1996, and a salary equivalent to 95% of a primary school teacher's salary for the years 1990-1995.
Considerations
The Federal Court partially upheld the appeal and referred the case back to the lower court for re-evaluation.
The Federal Court stated that a wage difference between a typically female and a gender-neutral identified occupation can constitute discrimination. Discrimination is credibly demonstrated if the allegedly lower workload is the only reason for the lower wage classification of kindergarten teachers. The burden of proof of the contrary is met if the workload is actually lower.
The Federal Court concluded that the Administrative Court had found that the workload of the kindergarten teachers was at least 10% lower than that of the primary school teachers. Therefore, it did not violate Art. 6 GlG if it considered the…