Bryce Corporation Sued by EEOC for Pay Discrimination

Female  Senior Business Analyst Paid Less Than Male in the Same Position, Federal  Agency Charges

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Bryce Corporation, a family-owned  and -operated corporation that offers flexible packaging and prepress solutions,  violated federal law by paying a female senior employee less than it paid a  male employee who held the same position, the U.S. Equal Employment  Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed August 30, 2019.

The EEOC charged Bryce hired a male employee as a senior business  analyst on or about June 30, 2016. Bryce paid the male employee an annual  salary of $122,500. Less than a month later, Bryce hired a female employee into  the same position, and paid her approximately $18,000 less per year than it  paid the male. When the woman learned of the pay disparity 10 months later, she  requested equal pay, but Bryce refused to increase her pay to the male's level.

The Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963  prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages. Pay  discrimination also violates Title VII of the Civil Rights  Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination, including in  compensation on the basis of sex. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Bryce  Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:19-cv-02586) in U.S. District Court for the Western  District of Tennessee after its Memphis District Office completed an  investigation and after the agency first attempted to reach a pre-litigation  resolution through its conciliation process. The EEOC seeks injunctive relief  prohibiting Bryce from discriminating against female employees in the future,  as well as monetary damages, including back pay, liquidated damages, and  compensatory and punitive damages.

"President  John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law more than 56 years ago,  calling attention to the practice of paying female employees less than male  employees for performing the same job," said Delner Franklin-Thomas, district  director of the EEOC's Memphis District Office, which has jurisdiction over  Arkansas, Tennessee and portions of Mississippi. "Yet we continue to see an  increase in equal pay charges. The EEOC remains committed to eradicating  sex-based wage discrimination. Companies must pay women equal wages for equal  work."

According to company information, Bryce Corporation, founded  in 1969 and headquartered in Memphis, produces plastic film  packaging for markets including candy, snack, pet food, and other consumer  products, from its five production facilities in the United States.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the  workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More  information is available at www.eeoc.gov.  Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.