Jerry’s Chevrolet paid the woman dispatcher less despite her having about six more months of seniority at the dealership than the male dispatcher, the EEOC notes in its suit, filed at the end of last month. The woman went to the director of HR after learning about the pay differential during September of last year and asked for a higher salary.
The HR director noted that he “would look into it,” the EEOC notes in the suit, but one week later fired the woman dispatcher, accusing her of making an impropriate joke. When the female dispatcher reminded the HR director that a few weeks earlier he had written up another employee for watching pornography at his desk and took no further action, he responded, “Well, that’s different.”
The EEOC contends that the woman dispatcher was fired for complaining about the pay discrimination. “Female workers in all industries deserve equal pay for equal work,” said Debra Lawrence, EEOC Philadelphia Regional Attorney. “Workers have the right to ask about perceived pay discrimination without being fired as a result and that is why we filed this lawsuit.”