Gandy V. Sullivan County

MERRITT, Chief Judge. Defendants, Sullivan County, Tennessee and William John McKamey appeal a verdict and award of damages to plaintiff Rosemarie Gandy under the Equal Pay Act provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1). Defendants make three assignments of error. The issue that has created the most confusion, which we address in Part II of this opinion, is defendants' assertion that the statute of limitations barred this action and plaintiff's assertion that the action is covered by the "continuing violations" doctrine. Defendants also make a sufficiency of the evidence claim. They contend that there was not ample evidence upon which a jury could make the necessary finding that a substantial similarity between Gandy's job and the job of her male predecessor existed. Finally, defendants assert that the district court prejudiced the substantial rights of the defendants by comments which exemplified the court's lack of preparation and knowledge of the law in this area. We find no error in the district court's judgment and therefore affirm.