United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________

LESLIE BOYER, Plaintiff-Appellant

v.

UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellee ______________________

2022-1822 ______________________

Appeal from the United States Court of Federal Claims in No. 1:20-cv-00438-ZNS, Judge Zachary N. Somers. ______________________

Decided: March 26, 2024 ______________________

LACHLAN W. SMITH, Wiggins Childs Pantazis Fisher & Goldfarb LLC, Birmingham, AL, argued for plaintiff-appel- lant. Also represented by JON C. GOLDFARB.

KARA WESTERCAMP, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Wash- ington, DC, argued for defendant-appellee. Also repre- sented by BRIAN M. BOYNTON, CLAUDIA BURKE, PATRICIA M. MCCARTHY.

DEBRA D'AGOSTINO, The Federal Practice Group, Washington, DC, for amici curiae A Better Balance, Amer- ican Medical Women’s Association, California Women Case: 22-1822 Document: 54 Page: 2 Filed: 03/26/2024

2 BOYER v. US

Lawyers, California Women’s Law Center, Center for Women’s Health & Human Rights, Suffolk University, Chi- cago Foundation for Women, Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues, Desiree Alliance, Equal Rights Advocates, Faith Ac- tion for All, Feminist Majority Foundation, Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Human Rights Campaign, If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Jus- tice, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproduc- tive Justice Agenda, In the Public Interest, Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, International Action Network for Gender Equity & Law, Lawyers Club of San Diego, Legal Aid at Work, Legal Momentum, the Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Fo- rum, National Association of Women Lawyers, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, National Consum- ers League, National Crittenton, National Employment Lawyers Association, National Health Care for the Home- less Council, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Women’s Law Center, National Womens Political Caucus, Queen’s Bench Bar Association of the San Francisco Bay Area, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Re- proaction, Service Employees International Union, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, SisterReach, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Women Em- ployed, Women Lawyers On Guard Inc., Women’s Bar As- sociation of the District of Columbia, Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press, Women’s Law Center of Maryland, Women’s Law Project, Women’s Media Center. Also repre- sented by JANEI AU; GAYLYNN BURROUGHS, SUNU CHANDY, PHOEBE WOLFE, National Women’s Law Center, Washing- ton, DC. ______________________

Before DYK, CHEN, and STOLL, Circuit Judges. DYK, Circuit Judge. Case: 22-1822 Document: 54 Page: 3 Filed: 03/26/2024

BOYER v. US 3

Dr. Leslie Boyer brought suit against the United States, claiming a violation of the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”), 29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1), because the government set her pay unequally compared to a male comparator. The Court of Federal Claims (“Claims Court”) granted summary judg- ment to the United States on the ground that, under the EPA, an employer may consider a “factor other than sex,” that “Congress permitted the [Veteran’s Administration] to use existing or prior pay alone [as a factor other than sex] in determining pay rates for new appointees,” and prior pay accounted for the differential in this case. J.A. 36. We conclude that