Adelphi pays $300K to Settle Sex Discrimination Suit
Posted: Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on Tuesday that Adelphi University has agreed to pay salary increases totaling more than $300,000 to several female professors as part of a settlement of a federal gender discrimination lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed in 2007 on behalf of Judith Cohen, a professor of education and attorney. Cohen, who had taught at Adelphi for thirty years, alleged that the school paid female professors less than male professors at the same level. A complaint was originally filed with the EEOC in 2005.
The Adelphi settlement will pay 37 women a total of $305,889 and give raises to 30 of them. The agreement also monitors and includes training for anti-discrimination laws for three years.
“Working women should never be shortchanged by receiving unequal pay for performing equal work,” Stuart J. Ishimaru, acting chairman of the EEOC, said in a statement.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires employers to provide equal pay to men and women for jobs that are “substantially equal.”
Cohen still teaches at Adelphi and could not be reached for comment.
“Federal law makes it crystal clear that an employer must pay employees performing substantially equal work in an equal manner, regardless of gender,” said EEOC attorney Louis Graziano.
Adelphi University has more than 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students at its main campus in Garden City and facilities in New York City, Hauppauge and Poughkeepsie.
“Adelphi University’s compensation practices are lawful, fair and equitable, and it intends to vigorously defend them,” said spokeswoman Lori Duggan Gold.
Adelphi denied any wrongdoing in a statement. “Adelphi University is pleased to reach a voluntary resolution to this matter,” the statement said. “This negotiated settlement enables us to close this matter without prolonged and costly litigation. . . . The university admits no wrongdoing and will continue to adhere to policies based on fairness and equity.”
The statement said the lawsuit does not take into consideration other factors that go into setting a salary, including “seniority, market demand, experience, [and] areas of expertise.”
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