The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged in a lawsuit that two companies, which provide home healthcare coordination services to patients at a northern Virginia health system, including through the services of their Post-Acute Care Coordinators (PACCs), violated civil rights laws by paying female PACCs less than male PACCs.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, female PACCs were paid less than male coworkers for performing equal work under similar working conditions. Female PACCs, who were excellent workers with no performance issues, were paid less than their newly hired male counterparts despite having more job-related experience in the healthcare field and more seniority in the PACC position. The two companies also refused to adjust female PACCs’ wages after receiving a complaint of pay discrimination.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibit pay discrimination based on sex. The EEOC filed suit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
The EEOC is seeking back pay, liquidated damages, punitive and compensatory damages, the elimination of the pay disparities, and other injunctive relief to correct and prevent future pay discrimination.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
The Equal Pay Act (EPA) requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal. Job content (not job titles) determines whether jobs are substantially equal. Specifically, the EPA provides that employers may not pay unequal wages to men and women who perform jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and that are performed under similar working conditions within the same establishment. All forms of pay are covered by this law, including salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock options, profit sharing and bonus plans, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, cleaning or gasoline allowances, hotel accommodations, reimbursement for travel expenses, and benefits. Pay differentials are permitted when they are based on seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production, or a factor other than sex. These are known as “affirmative defenses” and it is the employer’s burden to prove that they apply. In correcting a pay differential, no employee’s pay may be reduced. Instead, the pay of the lower paid employee(s) must be increased.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures for prevention of any type of discrimination, including in hiring practices, wage, or benefit assignment.
- Train staff about their right to be free from discrimination in the workplace. Teach staff to report any concerns of discrimination to their immediate supervisor or through the facility’s hotline.
- Audit wages of all levels of workers to ensure there is no evidence of sex-based compensation discrimination or violations related to other protected categories, e.g., race, ethnicity, religion, disability, etc. Periodically audit by anonymously polling staff to determine if they may be experiencing discrimination. Ask if they feel free to report such instances without fear of retaliation or retribution.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
