A Missouri woman’s claims against her former employer under the Equal Pay Act failed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit last week when it affirmed the district court’s ruling that her pay disparity was justified by a legitimate factor other than sex.

The three-judge panel unanimously affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri’s decision to award summary judgment to Daugherty Systems Inc., a St. Louis-based IT service management company, against its former employee, Tamara O’Reilly. The district court previously issued two orders in the case. One order decertified the collective action for wage discrimination, and the other granted Daugherty’s motion for summary judgment.