Current:Home > InvestMississippi Senate paid Black attorney less than white ones, US Justice Department says-LoTradeCoin
Mississippi Senate paid Black attorney less than white ones, US Justice Department says
View Date:2024-12-23 17:02:21
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Senate discriminated against a Black attorney by paying her about half of what her white colleagues were paid for doing the same job, the U.S. Justice Department says in a lawsuit it filed Friday.
“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, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Kristie Metcalfe worked as a staff attorney for the Mississippi Senate’s Legislative Services Office from December 2011 to November 2019. Attorneys for the nonpartisan office write bills and handle other legal questions for the 52 senators. Many of them stay on the job for decades.
The Senate office employed only white attorneys for at least 34 years before Metcalfe was hired, and she was the only Black attorney on staff during her time there, the lawsuit said.
Metcalfe’s starting salary was $55,000, while other Senate staff attorneys were paid $95,550 to $121,800, according to the lawsuit. The other attorneys received pay raises about a month after Metcalfe was hired, making their salary range $114,000 to $136,416. Metcalfe did not receive a raise then.
The current governor, Republican Tate Reeves, presided over the Senate as lieutenant governor from January 2012 until January 2020 — most of the time Metcalfe worked for the Senate.
The Associated Press sought comment about the lawsuit Friday from Reeves and current Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who is also a Republican.
“We do not comment on pending litigation,” said the current secretary of the Senate, Amanda Frusha White, who works for Hosemann.
Metcalfe’s salary remained $40,000 to $60,000 less than her lowest-paid white colleague during her years on the job, the lawsuit said. It also said the Senate hired another attorney, a white man, in December 2018 and set his salary at $101,500, which was $24,335 more than Metcalfe was being paid at the time.
Metcalfe and the new attorney both had eight years’ experience practicing law, although the new attorney had not yet worked for the Legislature. They were assigned the same types of work for the Senate, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said Metcalfe complained about the pay disparity to with then-Sen. Terry Burton, a Republican. As the Senate president pro tempore, Burton was chairman of the Rules Committee, which sets staff salaries. He denied Metcalfe’s request to equalize her salary with that of her new colleague, the lawsuit said. She resigned about 11 months later.
veryGood! (77924)
Related
- See Chris Evans' Wife Alba Baptista Show Her Sweet Support at Red One Premiere
- Why We're All Just a Bit Envious of Serena Williams' Marriage to Alexis Ohanian
- Houston community groups strain to keep feeding and cooling a city battered by repeat storms
- FBI searching for 14-year-old Utah girl who vanished in Mexico
- John Krasinski Details Moment He Knew Wife Emily Blunt Was “the One”
- Dolly Parton gives inside look at new Dollywood attraction, shares why it makes her so emotional
- Trump asks judge to throw out conviction in New York hush money case
- DWTS' Peta Murgatroyd Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Maks Chmerkovskiy
- American Idol’s Triston Harper, 16, Expecting a Baby With Wife Paris Reed
- Poland’s centrist government suffers defeat in vote on liberalizing abortion law
Ranking
- Spirit Airlines cancels release of Q3 financial results as debt restructuring talks heat up
- Pearl Jam guitarist Josh Klinghoffer sued for wrongful death of pedestrian
- Meta AI comment summaries is turned on in your settings by default: How to turn it off
- Want to improve your health? Samsung says, 'Put a ring on it!'
- Investigators believe Wisconsin kayaker faked his own death before fleeing to eastern Europe
- California fire officials report first wildfire death of the 2024 season
- Unlock Olivia Culpo's Summer Glow with This $3.99 Highlighter and More Budget-Friendly Beauty Gems
- Why didn't Zach Edey play tonight? Latest on Grizzlies' top pick in Summer League
Recommendation
-
Candidates line up for special elections to replace Virginia senators recently elected to US House
-
American tourist dead after suddenly getting sick on Sicily's Mount Etna, rescuers say
-
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will meet in the Wimbledon men’s final again
-
Trump asks judge to throw out conviction in New York hush money case
-
Inspector general finds no fault in Park Police shooting of Virginia man in 2017
-
Inflation may be cooling, but car insurance rates are revving up. Here's why.
-
A US judge is reining in the use of strip searches amid a police scandal in Louisiana’s capital city
-
Alec Baldwin and Wife Hilaria Cry in Court After Judge Dismisses Rust Shooting Case