A company that manages the Alexander Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Facility has agreed to pay $38,000 to resolve a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a female employee who was paid "significantly less" than a man who held the same position.
The commission's Little Rock area office announced the settlement Friday, a day after U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker approved a consent decree between the commission and TrueCore Behavioral Services.
A previous contractor, G4S Youth Services, operated the facility at the time of the discrimination, but TrueCore purchased the assets and liabilities from G4S in June 2017.
The lawsuit alleged that G4S violated the Equal Pay Act and Title VII, both of which prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of sex, when it filled a facility investigator position vacated by a male employee with a lower-paid female employee.
G4S placed Charlotte Allmon "in the exact position previously held by a male" but paid Allmon "significantly less," Baker said in her order approving the consent decree.
Although Allmon "brought the pay disparity to the company's attention, the company never raised her pay," according to the commission.
The agency noted that it filed a lawsuit after first trying to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
"One of EEOC's priorities is ensuring employees are paid equally when the employees perform the same job," said Faye A. Williams, regional attorney of the commission's Memphis District Office. The district office has jurisdiction over Arkansas, Tennessee and portions of Mississippi.
"An employee's gender can never be the basis for disparate treatment and pay," Williams said.
According to the order signed by Baker, within 21 days, TrueCore will pay Allmon $15,000 in back pay, with applicable taxes withheld, and will pay her $23,000 in compensatory damages.
The agreement also requires TrueCore to provide Allmon with a neutral job reference and to update its policies and implement training in an effort to ensure that the federal discrimination laws, and laws prohibiting retaliation for reporting sex discrimination, are complied with in the future.
Metro on 07/07/2018