Facts
On July 1, 1994, 16 needlework teachers in the Canton of Zurich filed a gender equality lawsuit against the Canton of Zurich. They claimed that their classification into salary class 17, compared to salary class 19 for primary school teachers, constituted discrimination. Furthermore, they argued that the increase in their mandatory teaching hours from 24 to 26 hours was also discriminatory.
The Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich partially upheld the claim. It determined that the Canton of Zurich was obligated to pay the claimants a salary corresponding to salary class 18 and a mandatory teaching load of 24 hours per week, effective July 1, 1991. The court considered the increase in mandatory teaching hours from 24 to 26 hours to be an unlawful gender discrimination.
The Canton of Zurich filed an administrative court appeal to the Federal Supreme Court, requesting the overturning of the contested judgment and a determination that the classification into salary class 17 and the increase in mandatory teaching hours were not gender discriminatory.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court first examined the admissibility of the administrative court appeal. It concluded that the Gender Equality Act, as federal public law, formed the basis of the contested decision, and therefore the administrative court appeal was admissible. The Canton, as the employer, was also entitled to file the appeal.
On the merits, the Federal Supreme Court confirmed the classification of the needlework teachers into salary class 18. It considered the selection and weighting of the criteria for job evaluation, as well as the classification regarding the criteria of "intellectual requirements," "responsibility," "psychological requirements/burdens," "physical…