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Pay disparities between the sexes isn’t dead. The EEOC recently settled a lawsuit against Medsurant Health, a Pennsylvania-based healthcare company providing intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring services, for sex discrimination. The EEOC contends that Medsurant paid a female monitorist less than the male coworkers for equal work. This violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibit pay discrepancy based on sex.
Once the female employee complained, she was also treated worse than her male counterparts, which led to a constructive discharge. Under federal law, retaliation for bringing a complaint of discrimination is also wrong.Â
Pay disparities between sexes is sexism
The EEOC first attempted to reach a settlement through pre-litigation mediation. After the EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, the two organizations resolved the lawsuit.
Medsurant will pay $80,000 to the wronged employee and will take proactive steps to prevent future sex discrimination through additional training and updated policies. Medsurant will also undergo an internal compensation audit to verify that there are no other pay disparities. Employees will also be notified of their rights concerning equal pay.Â
The takeaway for employers
This should be a reminder for employers to review compensation packages within their own organization to avoid pay disparities. Even after 60 years, sexism in employment still occurs.
Job content determines equality of jobs, not titles. All compensation should be included when determining equal pay, such as bonuses, stock options, perks, insurance and other benefits. Wages cannot be reduced to address pay disparities. Employers cannot punish an employee for concerns about equal pay. Employers do have the ability to allow pay disparities in cases of seniority or superior merit, but cannot base those decisions on gender or sex.
The EEOC has additional information about pay discrimination to help employers stay compliant with federal law.
