Facts
S. was employed as an editor at X. Tagblatt AG from October 1, 1987 to August 31, 1998. Her workload was initially 60%, later 90%. Her salary was significantly lower than that of her male colleague T., who was employed as a local editor with a full-time position from 1990 and received a much higher starting salary.
On October 1, 1996, S. approached the competent conciliation authority under the Gender Equality Act and filed a lawsuit against X. Tagblatt AG on February 10, 1997. She demanded retroactive payment of the wage differential between her salary and T.'s salary.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court held that the right to equal pay between the sexes is enshrined not only in Art. 3 of the Gender Equality Act, but already in Art. 4 para. 2 sentence 3 of the Federal Constitution. This constitutional provision is directly applicable to private employment relationships.
The Federal Supreme Court examines whether the lower court correctly applied the federal legal requirements for establishing the facts and the rules of evidence under the Gender Equality Act. It…