The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Sept. 19 filed a lawsuit against a Missouri nursing home for allegedly violating federal law by paying a female nurse less than her male counterparts.
Raytown, Mo.-based Edgewood Manor Center for Rehab and Healthcare hired Maisha Hill, a licensed practical nurse, in March 2017 at the rate of $21 per hour. Two male LPNs with the same position were paid $25 per hour. The lawsuit states that Edgewood Manor acknowledged it should have paid Ms. Hill $25 per hour.
"This nurse was paid 84 percent of what the male nurses made. We must ensure that unjustified pay disparities between men and women do not endure," Jack Vasquez Jr., director of the EEOC's St. Louis District Office, said in a news release.
The EEOC contends that Edgewood Manor's actions violate the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits employers from paying women and men differently for the same job. The EEOC filed its lawsuit after attempting to settle through a conciliation process and is now seeking back pay for Ms. Hill, along with an order to prevent future discrimination.
Edgewood Manor declined to comment on the pending litigation.