Gender-based pay disparity claim rejected

The Vermont Supreme Court has rejected complaints raised by three female employees of the Department of Corrections that a male colleague was paid more for similar work, saying the disparity was for legitimate business reasons.

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Vermont Supreme Court clears state in gender-based pay disparity claim By DAVE GRAM Associated Press | 12.30.15 | 12:17 AM MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Supreme Court has rejected complaints raised by three female employees of the Department of Corrections that a male colleague was paid more for similar work, saying the disparity was for legitimate business reasons. A man identified only as John Doe was hired as food service supervisor at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield shortly before that prison was to open in 2003. He was later promoted to business manager. Three Corrections Department business managers — all women — later learned he was making more money than them and sued. The state argued that his higher pay was because when he was hired, he had two degrees related to food service and 23 years’ experience. It also said with a month to go before the prison opened, it needed to hire the food service supervisor quickly, so he or she could hire staff. The women, Lynne Silloway, Mary Bertrand and Lisa DeBlois, were joined by the state Human Rights Commission in their suit. The court, in a decision written by Associate Justice Harold Eaton, found that the pay disparity began when Doe was ‘‘hired into range,’’ a process the state uses when it finds it needs to pay more than its usual scale to attract qualified candidates for a job or has found an exceptionally qualified candidate and wants to hire that person. Doe, who had directed food service and other operations for a hospital before taking the job at the prison, had been making $35.17 an hour. Moving to the state workforce, he took a cut to $19.94 per hour, the court said. The state handled Doe’s hiring in ‘‘a reasonable and rational manner,’’ the court ruling said. Years later, when Doe was promoted from food service supervisor to business manager, his initial salary had been increased by step and merit increases under the state’s labor contract with the Vermont State Employees’ Association. His pay exceeded that of the female business managers, in the case of Silloway by about $10,000 per year, the court said. The women had formal support for their lawsuit from the state Commission on Women, Vermont Legal Aid, American Association of University Women of Vermont, the South Royalton Legal Clinic and the state chapter of the League of Women Voters.