U.S. Justice Department sues Mississippi State Senate for race discrimination
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JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The United States Justice Department is suing the Mississippi State Senate, claiming that the Senate discriminated against a Black former staff attorney in its Legislative Services Office.
According to the lawsuit, the Senate paid the former staff attorney “about half the salary of her white colleagues in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits racial discrimination in compensation and other forms of employment discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin or religion.
“Discriminatory employment practices, like paying a Black employee less than their white colleagues for the same work, are not only unfair, they are unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The department alleges in the complaint that the Senate discriminated against Kristie Metcalfe by paying her significantly less than every other LSO attorney, all of whom were white.
The complaint further alleges that Metcalfe and these other attorneys had substantially the same job responsibilities and yet she was paid less than these attorneys throughout her eight-year tenure.
The LSO is a non-partisan office that provides legal services, such as drafting bills, for all members of the Senate.
In the 34 years prior to Ms. Metcalfe’s hire, the LSO employed only white attorneys.
The complaint alleges the pay gap between Metcalfe and her white colleagues began when she was hired and was perpetuated in several additional discriminatory pay actions.
In 2011, Metcalfe was paid a starting salary significantly lower than any LSO attorney in over 30 years.
Just one month after her hire, every attorney but Metcalfe was given a substantial raise, the lawsuit alleges, further widening the pay gap and leaving her with a salary less than half of what her white colleagues were earning.
At a meeting with Senate officials responsible for setting LSO salaries, Metcalfe says that she complained about the pay disparity with the new hire, but the Senate denied her request for comparable pay.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Jackson Area Office investigated and attempted to resolve Metcalfe’s charge of discrimination before referring it to the Justice Department for litigation.
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