Neuromonitoring Company in Pennsylvania Resolves Federal Charges of Pay Discrimination and Retaliation
PHILADELPHIA – Medsurant Holdings, LLC, a Pennsylvania-based healthcare services company providing intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring services to hospitals and surgeons in several states will pay $80,000 to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
Medsurant Health’s monitoring services are performed by intraoperative neurophysiology monitorists, and according to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Medsurant paid a female monitorist less than her male coworkers for performing equal work, despite her excellent credentials and performance history. After she complained, the company retaliated against her and treated her worse than similarly situated male colleagues, resulting in her constructive discharge.
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 and retaliation for engaging in protected activity. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (EEOC v. Medsurant Holdings, LLC et al.., Case No.3:23-cv-00501), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
In addition to the $80,000 in monetary relief paid to the female monitorist, the consent decree resolving the litigation prohibits future pay discrimination or retaliation and requires Medsurant Health to take affirmative steps to prevent such discrimination in the future. These steps include the implementation of enhanced compensation and discrimination policies, training for human resources and management officials involved in compensation decisions, notices to employees about their rights, and an internal compensation audit.
Debra Lawrence, regional attorney in the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office, said, “Employers should be proactively reviewing their own compensation systems for sex-based disparities, and they cannot punish an employee for raising equal pay concerns.”
Philadelphia District Office Director Jamie Williamson said, “More than 60 years after passage of the Equal Pay Act, women continue to face pay disparities in the workplace. The EEOC stands ready to assist victims of pay discrimination.”
For more information about equal pay and compensation, see: https://www.eeoc.gov/equal-paycompensation-discrimination. For more information on sex-based discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-based-discrimination. For more information on retaliation, see: https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.
The EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C., and parts of Virginia.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
