Salary equity issues in higher education are examined with reference to sex discrimination in faculty salaries, the law and its application, judicial deference toward higher education, and the nature of salary equity evidence. The basis for most salary equity studies has been the simple observation that salaries of male professors are generally higher than those of female professors, even within the same academic rank. Information is presented on salaries for male and female professors for the 1981-82 academic year. Similar relationships exist for all academic ranks in both public and private institutions. Two pieces of legislation, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, provide the primary basis for current salary equity studies and legal proceedings. In any legal action, an aggrieved faculty member may choose to make the claim as an individual or as a representative member of an injured class, such as all women faculty. Even if a plaintiff demonstrates that one academic position requires about the same skills, effort, and responsibility as another and that a salary differential exists between the individuals who occupy the two positions, the plaintiff's case still fails legally if the salary differential is attributable to a seniority system, a bona fide merit system, differences in the quantity or quality of work, or factors other than sex. The school is likely to use faculty evaluation data to defend its claim that observed salary differentials are appropriate. Three major methods that have been employed in the courts to examine salary equity are job evaluation, pairwise comparisons, and multiple regression. (SW)