Jacqueline R. PIVA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. XEROX CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee

Jacqueline Piva brought this action against her former employer, Xerox Corporation, under Title VII of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e. She sought individual relief, alleging that Xerox discriminated against her on the basis of sex in compensating her, in evaluating her job performance, and later in discharging her. She also sought class action relief, alleging that Xerox engaged in a pattern and practice of employment discrimination against female applicants and employees. After a trial.on the merits, the district court found in favor of Xerox on all claims. We affirm.

I

Background

Piva began working for Xerox in 1964 as a customer representative. In 1966 she started working in sales, and in 1967 she was promoted to a top-level sales position. She was discharged in June of 1970. Her individual sex discrimination claim is based primarily on her assertions that she was paid less than males in comparable sales positions, and that her discharge was the result of sex discrimination.

Piva’s class action claim is based on her assertion that Xerox has engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination against women in hiring and compensation. Piva relies…