Former Dept. of Public Health HR Staffer Sues Connecticut Over Alleged Pay Disparity
Connecticut Department of Public Health headquarters in Hartford. Photo: Google
A former human resources specialist with the state Department of Public Health has sued Connecticut, alleging it hired a man with less experience and paid him $11,000 more than she was making for a similar job with similar responsibilities.
In her federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, Penelope Davis says she should have been compensated to match the salary that Steven Beaupre received after she complained to her supervisor. Davis, who began working with the department in 1999 and was promoted in 2008 to principal human resources specialist, alleges in the lawsuit that she is a victim of discrimination and unequal pay in violation of the federal Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In her role, Davis helped direct the staff and operations of the Human Resources Office, performed labor relations activities and supervised a staff of up to five employees, her complaint states. She now works for the state Department of Social Services.
According to the six-page lawsuit, the state posted an ad for a principal human relations specialist in April 2017. The next month, it hired Beaupre, who has since left the post, for that job. It paid him a $99,750 salary, compared with Davis' $88,858 annually.
At the time of the hiring, the lawsuit maintains, Davis had more years of state service with the department, and both employees "performed equal work on the jobs, the performance of which required equal skill, effort and responsibility." During their employment, the suit says, "plaintiff and Mr. Beaupre worked under similar working conditions."
In June 2017, one month after Beaupre was hired, Davis met with her supervisor to express concerns that she was "being subjected to unfair and unequal rate of compensation." Davis subsequently sent a letter to that supervisor, regarding those concerns. Davis' pay, though, was never increased, the lawsuit says.
The suit says Davis, as a black woman, is a member of a protected class under Title VII. Beaupre is Hispanic. "Defendant subjected plaintiff to disparate treatment by paying a similarly situated male, Mr. Beaupre, a higher rate of pay than it paid to plaintiff,"
The lawsuit has two counts: Violation of the Equal Pay Act and violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory economic and noneconomic damages, including but not limited to damages for lost compensation, wages and benefits and emotional distress, liquidated damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees and costs.
Representing Davis is Todd Steigman of Hartford-based Madsen, Prestley & Parenteau. Steigman did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The Department of Public Health did not respond to requests for comment by press time, but it's likely a lawyer from the Office of Attorney General will represent the state. Elizabeth Benton, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office, had no comment Thursday.
Judge Kari Dooley is scheduled to hear the case.
