Iowa Supreme Court · No. 23-1371
Silvia R. Cianzio v. Iowa State University, State of Iowa and Board of Regents, State of Iowa
Decided December 13, 2024 · appeal from Polk County · Government
What the court decided
AI summary An employee sued for gender and wage discrimination and argued that the court should not limit the amount of money they could recover to only a two-year period. The court decided to reverse the previous ruling that had restricted the potential damages. This means the case will be sent back to the lower court to reconsider how much money the employee may be entitled to receive if they prove their claims.1
Result: Reversed and Case Remanded
The court’s own summary
Plaintiff alleging gender and wage discrimination, see Iowa Code sections 216.6 and 216.6A, was granted an interlocutory appeal from a pretrial ruling dismissing a portion of her claims as time-barred. Plaintiff alleges the district court erred in limiting her potential recovery on her section 216.6A wage discrimination claim to a two-year period pursuant to Iowa Code 614.1. She contends if she proves her wage discrimination claim she is entitled to recover statutory damages pursuant to Iowa Code section 216.15(9)(a)(9) for the entire period of discrimination.
Holding: Interlocutory appeal from an order limiting a plaintiff’s damages in a statutory wage discrimination claim. Reversed and Case Remanded.
Judges
- Written by Justice Christopher McDonald
- Trial judge: Heather Lauber, Polk County
Iowa Code it cites
Each links to the bills that change that chapter.