Royal Tire Will Pay $182,500 for Wage Discrimination Against Female Executive

EEOC Lawsuit Charged St. Cloud Tire Company Underpaid HR Director For Years in Violation of Federal Law

 

Royal Tire, Inc., a commercial and retail tire company based in St. Cloud, Minn., will pay $182,500 and be subject to detailed consent decree which resolves a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced. The decree was approved on July 31, 2014 by Judge John R. Tunheim of U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

The EEOC's lawsuit charged that between January 2008 and June 2011, Royal Tire discriminated against its female human resources director, Christine Fellman-Wolf, by paying her lower wages than it paid a male employee who held the very same position. The EEOC's investigation showed that when Fellman-Wolf became HR director she was paid $35,000 less per year than her male predecessor, and $19,000 less than the minimum salary for the position under Royal Tire's own compensation system. Fellman-Wolf complained about the disparity and asked to be compensated fairly, but Royal Tire did not make up the difference.

Pay discrimination is illegal under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which prohibits sex-based wage differentials for work requiring equal skill, effort, and responsibility performed under the same or similar working conditions. It is also illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which generally prohibits employment discrimination-including in compensation-on the basis of sex. Both statutes are enforced by the EEOC, and EEOC's lawsuit charged that Royal Tire had violated both. The EEOC filed suit on June 21, 2013 in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Fellman-Wolf v. Royal Tire, Inc., Civil Action No. 13-cv-1516 (JRT/LIB)) after first attempting to reach an pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.

"We are very pleased with this consent decree," said EEOC General Counsel David Lopez. "This is the latest in a series of cases where the Commission was able to successfully vindicate the rights of women under the Equal Pay Act."
The successful EPA enforcement actions noted by the General Counsel included EEOC v. Harmony Public Schools (http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-6-14a.cfm),EEOC v. Checkers (http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/4-2-14.cfm), and EEOC v. Extended Stay Hotels (http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/2-19-14.cfm)

John C. Hendrickson, the EEOC's regional attorney for the Chicago district, said, "Too many employers appear to think that it's enough just to let women in the door, and that no one is going to notice if the money in their pay envelope is less than men's who are doing the same work. Bad guess. Employers should know that such pay discrimination is a violation of federal law under two statutes and that it's a top law enforcement priority for the EEOC. That should be the takeaway for employers-and women-who have been watching this case."

In addition to substantial monetary relief to Fellman-Wolf, Royal Tire must comply with the three-year consent decree, which contains an injunction prohibiting the company from any future discriminating based on sex, paying men and women different wages for doing equal work, and retaliating against employees who exercise their rights under federal law. Additionally, the consent decree requires Royal Tire to evaluate its pay structure to ensure compliance with the Equal Pay Act and Title VII, and if it discovers employees who are being paid less than required by law, it must immediately raise the wages for those employees. The decree requires training for Royal Tire's managers and employees under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII, and allows the EEOC to monitor Royal Tire's compliance with the decree. Royal Tire must report to the EEOC any complaints it receives about pay discrimination and provide information on how it handles those complaints.

Trial Attorney Jessica Palmer-Denig, who handled the litigation for the EEOC, noted, "Equal pay for equal work is a fundamental civil right, and the EPA is a strict statute. Employers should carefully examine the actual job duties of their employees, not just employee or job titles, to determine if wages are really equal. If a pay disparity exists between men and women doing the same work, the employer is well-advised to raise the salary of the lower-paid employees immediately."

Source: EEOC

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

Worcester County Will Pay $60,000 to Resolve EEOC Pay Discrimination Lawsuit

Female Liquor Store Clerks Were Paid Less than Male Coworkers, Federal Agency Charged

Worcester County, Md., will pay $60,000 and furnish significant equitable relief to resolve a pay discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Worcester County Liquor Control Board (LCB) paid Donna Smith, Kylesha Conner and Sharee Dale less wages than male retail clerks, even though they were doing substantially equal work under similar working conditions. When the state of Maryland abolished the LCB, the state transferred the assets and liabilities to Worcester County, including liabilities for violations of the Equal Pay Act, the EEOC charged.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) prohibits discrimination in compensation based on sex. The EEOC first attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement before filing suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division (EEOC v. County Commissioners of Worcester County, Maryland, Civil Action No. 2:12-CV-02595).

In addition to the $60,000 in monetary relief to Smith, Conner and Dale, the three-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit contains important remedial relief, including prohibiting Worcester County from future discrimination on the basis of sex with respect to wages. The county will offer Dale full-time employment the next time a position becomes available, subject to the recall rights of other employers who may be laid off. Worcester County will provide training on preventing employment discrimination, with a special emphasis on preventing sex-based pay discrimination. The county will also report to the EEOC on its handling of all complaints of wage discrimination and post a remedial notice. 
   
"The law requires equal pay for equal work," said Spencer H. Lewis, Jr., district director of the EEOC's Philadelphia District Office. "The EEOC will take vigorous action to enforce the EPA when an employer fails to pay female employees the equal wages they deserve." 

EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence added, "This case is another example of EEOC's efforts to remedy pay discrimination in the workplace. We are pleased that Worcester County worked with us to reach a settlement that not only pays the female clerks their lost wages, but also ensures that women will not be paid less based on their gender."

Enforcement of equal pay laws and targeting compensation systems and practices that discriminate based on gender is one of six national priorities identified by the EEOC's Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP).

Source: EEOC

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

Champions of Women’s Work

by Latifa Lyles on August 26, 2013

In 1963, John F. Kennedy was president of the United States. The civil rights movement was in full force throughout the nation, perhaps most memorably in Martin Luther King Jr.’s August 28 March on Washington. Earlier that summer, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova had become the first woman to orbit the planet. And back on Earth, with her feet firmly on U.S. soil, Esther Peterson was also focused on helping women reach new heights.

Peterson is one link on a long chain of Labor Department employees who have championed the rights of working women. A former teacher, labor organizer and lobbyist, she had been appointed assistant secretary of labor and director of the Women’s Bureau by President Kennedy in 1961. In 1963, she advocated for the passage of the Equal Pay Act, and she also served as executive vice chair of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women.

1963 was also the year Peterson and her commission colleagues issued a groundbreaking report titled “American Women.” Though working women have played a vital role throughout the nation’s history, the 1963 report represented a sea change in the way policymakers and the U.S. talked about their contributions. Addressing issues such as gender-based job discrimination, equal pay for equal work, and the need for daycare for working parents, the report formed a cornerstone for policies and programs that enhanced women’s participation in many aspects of American life.

Throughout the department’s 100 year history, its female employees have helped advance the cause of working women – from advocates like Peterson to the indomitable Frances Perkins, the nation’s first female cabinet member, to Alexis M. Herman, both the youngest person (at 29) to lead the Women’s Bureau and the first African-American secretary of labor.

Since the publication of ”American Women,” the Women’s Bureau has continued to advocate for the nation’s working women. In the 1970s, the bureau threw its support behind the Equal Rights Amendment, which sought to guarantee equal rights for women. In 1984, the bureau launched a national initiative to educate the public about the Job Training Partnership Act and its potential to improve the economic status of women. In 1992, it joined the Employment and Training Administration in administering the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program, to assist employers and labor unions in placing and retaining women in apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations.

Today, my colleagues in the Women’s Bureau are still committed to helping women reach new heights. As a member of the president’s National Equal Pay Task Force, we know that a wage gap persists 50 years after the Equal Pay Act was signed, and we are committed to opposing gender-based pay inequality. Fifty years after “American Women” identified the importance of workplace flexibility, we continue to promote work-life balance and flexible work arrangements that recognize the importance both for employers to retain talented staff and for workers to fulfill familial obligations. We are also actively helping women, both civilians and veterans, find profitable, satisfying jobs in the U.S. workforce.

Our mission is to develop policies and standards to safeguard the interests of working women, to advocate for their equality and economic security, and to promote quality work environments. In today’s economy, with the majority of U.S. households relying on women’s wages to pay the bills, this mission is more important than ever.

Today is Women’s Equality Day – which commemorates the passage of the 19^th Amendment, which guaranteed U.S. women the right to vote. It’s a day to reflect not just on suffrage but on all the movements that have led to better treatment and greater equality for women throughout our nation’s history. Today and every day, the Women’s Bureau is proud to take our place in the chain of champions, and to continue the struggle for equality and opportunity in the U.S. workforce.

Latifa Lyles is the acting director of the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau.

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

EEOC Chair Issues Statement on Equal Pay Day 2013

Tuesday, April 9, 2013 is Equal Pay Day, the day that marks the end of the extra period of time that the average woman in the U.S. must work in order to earn what the average man earned during the previous year.

In 1963, a year before the enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act (EPA) to end wage disparities among employees who performed work requiring substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions. At the time, Congress found that sex-based wage discrimination contributed to underutilization of the labor force and unfair competition. On signing the EPA, President John F. Kennedy said that the EPA "affirms our determination that when women enter the labor force, they will find equality in their pay envelope."

Ever since the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex, race, color, national origin, and religion, the EEOC has been at the forefront of the battle for equal pay. In 1978, the EEOC assumed responsibility of enforcing the Equal Pay Act. In addition to enforcing Title VII and the EPA, the EEOC also works to stop and remedy illegal pay discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act.

This year will mark the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Equal Pay Act. Although we have come a long way since the days when gender-based salary inequities were explicitly condoned by law and corporate policies, vestiges of the past persist. Women continue to earn significantly less than men, even controlling for factors such as occupation, educational level, and hours worked. The gender pay gap is even larger when race and national origin are factored in for African American and Latina women.

In the EEOC's Strategic Enforcement Plan (FY 2013-2016), the Commission prioritized the enforcement of equal pay laws, and committed to enhanced enforcement of equal pay laws to eliminate compensation systems and practices that discriminate based on gender. In Fiscal Year 2012, EEOC received over 4,100 charges of gender-based wage discrimination, and obtained over $24 million in relief for victims of gender-based wage discrimination through administrative enforcement efforts and litigation. The EEOC also continues to serve as a key member of the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force, a federal government initiative focused on ending the gender pay gap.

As we commemorate Equal Pay Day, we acknowledge the progress achieved in five decades since the Equal Pay Act took effect, but we also recommit ourselves to the goal of ensuring, once and for all, that the promise of the Equal Pay Act is realized for every worker in the United States of America. As President Barack Obama observed in his Proclamation for National Equal Pay Day, 2013: "Our country has come a long way toward ensuring everyone gets a fair shot at opportunity, no matter who you are or where you come from. But our journey will not be complete until our mothers, our wives, our sisters, and our daughters are treated equally in the workplace and always see an honest day's work rewarded with honest wages."

Source: EEOC

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.