VERONA, Wis. — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a suit against the Verona Area School District, claiming the district paid female special education teachers and a school psychologist less than their male counterparts for doing substantially equal work.
The suit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, alleges the district violated the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
According to the suit, first reported by the Wisconsin State Journal, the district paid a longtime female psychologist more than $10,000 less annually than a male psychologist hired in August 2017. The male special education teacher, who was hired in June 2019, also made thousands of dollars more annually than his female colleagues despite them having “substantially the same or more teaching experience.”
The EEOC is seeking an injunction against the district to stop them from continuing to violate the Equal Pay Act as well as back pay and damages for the female employees. It also wants a judge to order the district to “institute and carry out policies, practices, and programs, which provide equal employment opportunities for women and which eradicate the effects of its past and present unlawful employment practices.”
In a statement to News 3 Now, Superintendent Dr. Tremayne Clardy said the district “remains committed to lawful, equitable hiring and compensation practices.”
“It would be inappropriate for the District to comment on any pending litigation involving the previous administration’s practices and procedures,” he added.
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