U.S. Justice Department, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Settle Pay Discrimination Lawsuits with Texas Departments

Pay discrimination lawsuits against two Texas state agencies have been settled.

The U.S. Justice Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Friday that they have reached a settlement with the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas General Land Office.

The settlement was to resolve allegations that both state agencies were liable for pay discrimination on the basis of gender, which is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.

The Justice Department alleged that the now-defunct Texas Department of Rural Affairs discriminated against three female TDRA specialists by paying them significantly less than their male counterparts for the same work.

They continue by alleging that when TDRA addressed the issue, they still did not raise the women to the same level as their comparable male employees, and did not retroactively compensate the women for undervaluing their salaries.

The complaint continues, saying that the organization retaliated against the women, when they were terminated from their positions due to their opposition of the disparities.

The TDA and GLO were named as successors in interest to the TDRA.

Under the terms of the settlement, the two will pay $175,000 in back pay to the three employees, and agree to maintain employment policies in compliance with Title VII and the Equal Pay Act.