Megan K. Mechak
Tue, 10/10/2023
Steel manufacturer Gerdau MacSteel, Inc. has agreed to pay $6,000 to each non-union male employee who was prevented from taking paid paternity leave after the birth of a child between August 30, 2019, and December 31, 2022.
According to settlement papers filed in federal court, the company had a policy that provided birth mothers, but not birth fathers, with six weeks of paid time off for “baby bonding” and attending to their newborn’s medical needs. The plaintiff, Nicholas Johnson, alleged that he and other similarly situated new fathers were prevented, discouraged, and deterred from requesting paid paternity leave under the company’s policy. As a result, when Johnson’s wife gave birth in November 2021, Gerdau only offered him 30 days of unpaid leave.
In Johnson v. Gerdau MacSteel, Inc., which is pending In the Eastern District of Michigan, Johnson alleged that Gerdau’s policy violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act, and Michigan’s Elliot-Larson Civil Rights Act and Workforce Opportunity Wage Act because it offered less paid leave to birth fathers than birth mothers.
If the settlement is approved by the Court, notice of the settlement will be sent to approximately 800 non-union male employees who worked for Gerdau during the recovery period, which ended when Gerdau implemented a gender-neutral paid parental leave policy effective January 1, 2023. As part of the settlement, Gerdau agreed to continue the gender-neutral policy. Eligible workers who demonstrate that they had a baby through natural birth during the recovery period will be eligible to recover $6,000. Class members’ attorneys will recover $2,000 in attorneys’ fees for each class member who receives damages.
MSE represents workers subjected to gender-based pay and other discrimination. For more information about gender-based discrimination, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/practice-areas/gender-based-pay-disparity-and-equal-pay-act, and https://www.mselaborlaw.com/practice-areas/employment-discrimination-and-civil-rights.
