Maryland Department of Health’s Thomas B. Finan Center to Pay $270,000 in EEOC Sex Discrimination Lawsuit

BALTIMORE – The Thomas B. Finan Center of the Maryland Department of Health, a multipurpose psychiatric facility located in Cumberland, Maryland, will pay $270,000 to settle an equal pay lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, for several years up to the present, Finan paid a less tenured and less experienced male recreation therapist higher wages than it paid to his four female counterparts, even though the females had greater experience in the job. Their requests to Finan to equalize their pay were ignored. 

Such alleged conduct violates the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits pay discrimination between persons of the opposite sex for performing equal work. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (EEOC v. Thomas B. Finan Maryland Department of Health, Case No. MJM-22-2407), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to the $270,000 in monetary relief paid to the female recreation therapists named in the suit, consisting of back pay and other damages, the consent decree resolving the litigation prohibits future pay discrimination or retaliation and requires Finan to increase the females’ compensation to what they should have been earning, to account for this adjustment retroactively and to adjust their pensions accordingly. Finan will also provide training for human resources and management officials involved in compensation decisions and a notice to employees.

“Sex-based pay disparity still exists, in large part because employees are not necessarily aware of what their coworkers are being paid,” said Debra Lawrence, the EEOC’s regional attorney in Philadelphia. “Employers are advised to take seriously any worker’s request for equalization of pay and to think critically about the reasons for any pay disparity. Employers should be mindful about their pay systems and be prepared to adjust their employees’ compensation in accordance with the law.”

EEOC Baltimore Field Office Director Rosemarie Rhodes said, “In addition to the law itself, fundamental fairness dictates that employees receive equal pay for equal work. The EEOC is here to assist any worker who believes the law is not being followed.” 

For more information on equal pay and compensation discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/equal-paycompensation-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, 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 prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.