The Fresno County Office of Education hired Aileen Rizo as a math consultant. Shehad previously worked as a middle and high school math teacher, earning about $50,000 a year. Fresno based the salary of its new hires on the individual’s prior salary, according to the county’sStandard Operating Procedure (SOP). When Rizo learned thatshe was being paid less than comparable male employees for the same work, she filed a complaint. The county respondedthat all salaries were set under the SOP. Rizo filed a suit againstJim Yovino, the Fresno superintendent, claiming a violation of the Equal Pay Act. She asserted that under the Equal Pay Act, an employer should not be able to justify a wage differential between men and women on the basis of prior salary. Yovino argued that basing pay on a prior salary was permissible under an exception in the act for “any factor other than gender.” Did the county violate the Equal Pay Act? Discuss.