Covenant Medical Center, Inc., doing business as Covenant HealthCare, a non-profit health care system based in Saginaw, Mich., will pay $104,707 and provide other relief to settle a sex wage discrimination lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Covenant HealthCare violated federal law by paying a female business intelligence developer a lower salary than two males who held the same job and performed the same work. Such alleged conduct violates the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The parties resolved the lawsuit by entering into a two-year consent decree. In addition to the monetary relief, the decree requires Covenant HealthCare to increase the female employee’s salary; revise its compensation policies to ensure compliance with the EPA and Title VII; train managers on compensation discrimination; and post a notice to inform employees of their rights under both federal statutes.
