Mississippi Senate sued by DOJ for financial discrimination

Source: Max Zolotukhin / Getty

Conservatives can balk at DEI all they want to but the facts don’t give a damn about their feelings. Inequality is still a very real thing and when professional entities private or public are found to be places of discriminatory practice, then they must be dealt with accordingly.

NBC News is reporting that the United States Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Mississippi Senate for paying a Black woman attorney “significantly less” than her white colleagues. The Mississippi Senate’s Legal Services Office is accused of violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act by paying Kristie Metcalfe 50% of what was paid to others for years of work. Metcalfe was the first and only Black attorney in the office.

“Discriminatory employment practices, like paying a Black employee less than their white colleagues for the same work, are not only unfair, they are unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a news release Friday.

“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,” Clarke added.

Metcalfe worked for the SLSO from 2011 until 2019 when she resigned after confronting the higher-ups about the egregious wage disparity. The lawsuit notes that her initial salary offer was lower than any other employee during the office’s 30-year existence. Additionally, Metcalfe did not receive pay raises when her colleagues did.

The DOJ is seeking compensatory damages, backpay, and “injunctive and other appropriate relief.”

We hope Kristie Metcalfe gets every single red penny and more.