EEOC Sues Thomas B. Finan Center for Equal Pay Act Violations

BALTIMORE – The Maryland Department of Health’s Thomas B. Finan Center in Cumberland, a state residential psychiatric care center, has been violating federal law by paying its sole male Therapeutic Recreator more than all four female Therapeutic Recreators at the same facility, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the Finan Center hired the male to a subordinate position and promoted him noncompetitively three times in a 13-month period, each time paying him more than the females, who at one point were his supervisors. All four females have had more tenure in their position than the male, and two have had longer state government tenure. 

Such alleged conduct violates the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The case, EEOC v. Thomas B. Finan Center, Maryland Department of Health., Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-2407, was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division. ­­The EEOC is seeking back pay, liquidated damages, and appropriate injunctive relief to prevent similar discriminatory practices in the future.

“The EEOC is fully and absolutely committed to ensuring that gender is not factored into compensation and that employees must receive equal pay for equal work,” said EEOC Baltimore Field Director Rosemarie Rhodes.  

EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence added, “That the females performed the same duties as the male hire, had more years of experience, but were paid thousands less, is both unfair and illegal – and that’s why we filed this lawsuit.”

Ensuring equal pay protections for all workers is one of six national priorities identified by the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan. More information about pay discrimination can be found at https://www.eeoc.gov/equal-paycompensation-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Baltimore Field Office is one of four offices in the Philadelphia District Office, which has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

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.