Auto Dealerships Paid Female Dispatcher Less than Male Counterpart and Fired Her When She Requested Equal Pay, Federal Agency Charges
BALTIMORE – Jerry’s Chevrolet Inc., and Jerry’s Motor Cars Inc., leading Baltimore County auto dealerships, will pay $62,500 and furnish other relief to settle a pay discrimination and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s suit, a female employee worked as a dispatcher but was paid less than a male dispatcher, both performing equal work. When the female employee complained to human resources about the wage disparity, that department told her that someone would look into the matter. Instead, a week later she was fired. The company claimed that a profanity she had uttered during a break was the reason for her termination, although months earlier, a male employee who had engaged in far more offensive conduct had received only a written warning.
The Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibit discrimination based on pay and prohibit retaliation against employees who request pay equal to employees of the opposite sex. The EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division (EEOC v. Jerry’s Chevrolet Inc., et al, Civil Action No. 21-cv-02464-JRR), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
In addition to providing $62,500 in monetary relief to the lower-paid female, the two-year consent decree resolving the suit enjoins the company from sex-based pay discrimination and retaliation against employees seeking equal pay in the future. Jerry’s Chevrolet and Jerry’s Motorcars will adopt a policy which creates channels for employees to report unequal pay and procedures for handling those complaints. The company will train its managers and supervisory employees on preventing sex-based wage discrimination arising under Title VII and the Equal Pay Act and those statutes’ retaliation prohibitions, with particular emphasis on retaliation against those who request equal pay. The company will also report to the EEOC on how it handles any pay discrimination complaints.
“Women are still paid 83 cents to every dollar earned by men,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence. “This problem cannot be fixed without women being able to speak out when they learn that they are paid less than male co-workers. We applaud the women who speak out for equal pay who know they risk termination when doing so. The EEOC is here for them.”
EEOC Baltimore Field Office Director Rosemarie Rhodes added, “Equal pay has always been a priority in this district. Employers should work proactively to see that men and women receive equal pay. As was the case here, waiting for an employee to raise the issue may lead to significant consequences, particularly when the employee’s complaint is mishandled.”
The EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. The legal staff of the EEOC Philadelphia District Office also prosecutes discrimination cases arising from Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.
For more information on equal pay and compensation discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/equal-paycompensation-discrimination. For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
