Professional Membership Organization Paid Female Associate Editor Lower Wages Than Male Counterpart, Federal Agency Charged
WASHINGTON - The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), a professional membership organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., will pay $41,777.00 in back pay and liquidated damages and will furnish significant equitable relief to settle a lawsuit charging sex-based pay discrimination filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
The EEOC charged that NAEYC paid former Associate Editor Denni Johnson lower wages than it paid to a male associate editor whose job was equivalent to Johnson's. The male counterpart, who was hired six months after Johnson, had substantially less editing and writing experience, but was paid about $8,000 more annually, the federal agency said.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on sex, including pay discrimination and in making promotion decisions. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 also prohibits compensation discrimination based on sex. The EEOC first attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process before filing suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (EEOC v. National Association for the Education of Young Children, Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-01989).
"The EEOC takes seriously the problem of sex discrimination in pay," said Mindy E. Weinstein, acting director of the EEOC's Washington Field Office. "The successful resolution of this case is a step forward in the EEOC's ongoing effort to ensure that women are paid the same as men for equal work."
Philadelphia District Office Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence added, "The EEOC is pleased that NAEYC worked with the EEOC to achieve an early resolution of this case and agreed to fully compensate Ms. Johnson for the wage disparity over which the EEOC filed suit." The Legal Unit of the Washington Field Office, which filed this lawsuit, is part of the EEOC's Philadelphia District Office.
