The Maryland Department of Health’s Thomas B. Finan Center in Cumberland, a state residential psychiatric care center, has been violating federal law by paying its sole male Therapeutic Recreator more than all four female Therapeutic Recreators at the same facility, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the Finan Center hired the male to a subordinate position and promoted him noncompetitively three times in a 13-month period, each time paying him more than the females, who at one point were his supervisors. All four females have had more tenure in their position than the male, and two have had longer state government tenure. Such alleged conduct violates the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC is seeking back pay, liquidated damages, and appropriate injunctive relief to prevent similar discriminatory practices in the future.
