Reference no: EM132879598

Female Custodians Settle Lawsuit against the U.S. for $2.5 Million In November 2001, more than 300 current and former female custodians won a $2.5 million settlement resulting from a pay equity lawsuit filed against AOC (Architect of the Capitol, Inc.) in 1997 by a group of African American female custodians on Capitol Hill. The lawsuit alleged violations of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It charged that female custodial workers were paid significantly less than their male co-workers for performing essentially the same work. Custodians working at the Capitol, in Washington DC, are federal civil servants. At the time the suit was filed, the highest pay possible for a female custodian to earn was $10.08 per hour. For male custodians, the highest pay possible to earn was $11.10 per hour. The disparity was due to discrimnatory federal Wage Grade classifications. Women were classified under WG-2 and men under WG-3. Under the settlement, all custodians, male and female, were to receive upgrades to WG-3. Lump sum payments of approximately $1000 to $8000 were to be paid to each female represented. The federal government, which had contracted with the AOC as a private firm to clean the Capitol, defended the firm through the U.S. Justice Department. As a result of the settlement, the government was required to pay not only the $2.5 million, but also the attorneys' fees and costs of class counsel for the plaintiffs.

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