Sophia Serrao
Thu, 09/01/2022
On August 11, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Lacey’s Place, a chain of 30 gaming parlors in Illinois, claiming violations of the Equal Pay Act and Title I and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The EEOC alleges that Lacey’s Place pays female district managers lower wages than male district manager on the basis of sex, which is a violation of civil rights laws.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, female district managers were paid less than their male coworkers since at least March 2018. Several female district managers had similar or more experience and/or education than their male counterparts but were paid $6,000 to $16,500 less in annual salary. The EEOC seeks back pay for the money owed to the female district managers, liquidated damages, elimination of the pay disparities, and other injunctive relief to prevent future pay discrimination at Lacey’s Place.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act both prohibit pay discrimination based on sex. The Equal Pay Act specifically fights the endemic problem of gender-based pay disparity in the workplace, which includes but is not limited to being paid less than an opposite sex coworker, having fewer benefits provided, or fewer avenues to promotion. Under the law, employers are required to pay all workers equally for equal work. At Lacey’s Place, the EEOC alleges, female district managers are doing equal work as the male district managers, but they are not paid equally.
For more information on MSE’s work on gender-motivated civil rights violations, see our #MeToo in the Workplace page. If you believe your current or former employer has paid you at a rate less than your opposite sex coworkers for the same work, contact us.
