DOJ sues Mississippi Senate for paying Black staff attorney half the compensation white layers receive

The Mississippi Senate has been hit with a race discrimination lawsuit filed November 8 by the Department of Justice (DOJ), charging the Senate with paying the sole Black attorney in its Legislative Services Office (LSO) only half the salary of her four white colleagues performing the same duties.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke announced that DOJ filed the lawsuit against the Mississippi State Senate for discriminating against former LSO staff attorney Kristie Metcalfe. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, alleges the Senate paid Metcalfe about half the salary of her white colleagues, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Metcalfe was the first non-white attorney hired by the LSO in its 34 years of existence, the DOJ said. The duties of LSO staff attorneys include legal services such as drafting bills for use by members of the Senate.

LOWEST SALARY

Metcalfe’s 2011 starting salary of $55,000 was the lowest salary paid to any LSO attorney since 1996 – 15 years earlier – when it paid two other staff attorneys $54,500 each, the DOJ lawsuit says.

“The Senate knew when it set Metcalfe’s initial salary that her salary was significantly lower than the other white LSO attorneys,” the DOJ complaint states. 

Metcalfe filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on May 31, 2019, alleging the Mississippi State Senate discriminated against her in employment based on her race – Black.

The EEOC investigation “found reasonable cause to believe Defendant discriminated against Metcalfe based on her race.” The EEOC attempts at conciliation failed, and the case was referred to DOJ.

DOJ’s Civil Rights Division accepted the case after EEOC concluded the Mississippi Senate discriminated against Metcalfe.

 “Ms. Metcalfe and the other attorneys in the LSO had had substantially the same job responsibilities and yet she was paid less than these attorneys throughout her eight-year tenure,” the DOJ complaint alleges.

Clarke said that “paying a Black employee less than her white colleagues for the same work” is both unfair and unlawful, and is clearly in violation of Title VII, which prohibits racial discrimination in compensation and other forms of workplace discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, or religion.

TOP PRIORITY

The DOJ says it assigns “top priority” to this category of cases, stating: 

“The full and fair enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division … This lawsuit is seeking back pay and compensatory damages for Ms. Metcalfe, in addition to injunctive and other appropriate relief.”

Clarke explained the purpose of the lawsuit: “The Black employee at issue in this lawsuit was paid about half the salary of her white colleagues in violation of federal law. This lawsuit makes clear that race-based pay discrimination will not be tolerated in our economy. Our work to eliminate race-based pay disparities is about promoting compliance with the law and promoting equity and fairness for all workers.”

UNYIELDING SENATE

The pay gap between Metcalfe and her white colleagues allegedly began when she was hired and was perpetuated in several additional discriminatory pay actions. Her 2011 starting salary was “significantly lower than any LSO attorney in over 30 years,” the DOJ said. 

In January 2012, a month after she was hired, every attorney but Metcalfe was given a substantial raise, further widening the pay gap. In 2018, the Senate hired another white attorney having no prior experience in legislative affairs. 

This man with no experience in this line of work was paid $101,500 as a beginning salary, $24,335 higher than Metcalfe’s with seven years’ experience, the DOJ disclosed. 

In December 2018, Metcalfe met with then-Senate President Pro Tem Terry Burton of Newton, who was also chair of the Senate Rules Committee that set the pay for the LBO staff. Metcalfe reportedly complained to the Committee about the pay disparity and asked for a salary comparable to that of the new attorney. Burton and the Committee denied Metcalfe’s request for equal pay. 

Metcalfe subsequently resigned from the LSO, effective November 15, 2019. 

She timely filed a charge of racial discrimination with the EEOC on May 31, 2019, alleging the Mississippi State Senate discriminated against her in employment based on her race.

The DOJ concluded Metcalfe suffered as a result of the unlawful pay discrimination, including, but not limited to, pain and suffering, emotional distress, anxiety, and loss of enjoyment of life.

The DOJ lawsuit asks the federal court to order the Senate to “implement policies, practices, and procedures to prevent race discrimination in the workplace,” and to compensate Metcalfe for her pain and suffering.

CLARKE’S MISSION

Kristen Clarke, the first Black woman to head DOJ’S Civil Rights Division, has stimulated a new awareness of the continuing concerns about civil rights issues in Mississippi. 

On her first tour of select locations in the state in June 2023, she traveled to Lexington, Jackson, Indianola, and Clarksdale to continue to engage with stakeholders in underserved communities and to reaffirm DOJ’s commitment to protecting the civil rights of all Americans. She led the DOJ investigation into allegations of Lexington police harassment and abuse of the city’s majority Black population. She also played a central role in opening a civil rights investigation into the racist, “Goon Squad”-like practices in Rankin County law enforcement, with special attention being paid to the administrative practices of Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey.

“The concerns about the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department did not end with the demise of the Goon Squad,” Clarke said.