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Dive brief:
- Maryland highway department to give $40,000 to male worker to settle sex discrimination lawsuit to pay him less than women in the same role, according to a statement from the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.
- Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration women paid up to $22,960 more than the man, who had more experience and tenure, for the district’s community liaison role, according to the lawsuit. From now on, the department will give the man a raise to match the pay of women doing the same job and also fund his pension accordingly.
- “Although pay disparity for doing equal work often affects women in the workplace, the Equal Pay Act applies to men as well,” said Debra Lawrence, EEOC Regional Attorney in Philadelphia, in the release. “Employers must consider their pay systems and be prepared to adjust their employees’ compensation in accordance with the law.”
Diving knowledge:
The suit flips national wage rules on their head. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Women typically earn only 82% of what men do they are paid in the same role nationally.
But in construction, this wage gap is considerably smaller. while women make up only 10.9% of construction female workers—compared to 46.8% of all workers—receive, on average, 95.5% of what men are paid. This is the smallest gender pay gap across all industries, a factor often attributed to the high demand for construction workers in general, as well as union wage scales.
In the Maryland case, Rosemarie Rhodes, director of the EEOC’s Baltimore field office, said everyone should be paid the same rate for the same job.
“In addition to the law itself, fundamental fairness dictates that employees receive equal pay for equal work,” Rhodes said. “The EEOC is here to help any worker who believes the law is not being followed.”
MDOTSHA called the lawsuit a personnel matter and declined to comment on the settlement.
