Mistrial declared in CBSD equal pay lawsuit; jury 'split', fails to reach unanimous verdict

After more than two hours of jury deliberations Tuesday afternoon, a mistrial was declared in the collective action lawsuit against Central Bucks School District that accused the district of underpaying female teachers, a violation of the Equal Pay Act.

A jury of six men and two women could not reach a unanimous verdict following six days of testimony. The foreperson described the jury as "split" after a second round of deliberations ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Michael M. Baylson.

After another hour, the jury declared it was deadlocked around 3:30 p.m. and Baylson declared a mistrial.

Shortly after, the Central Bucks School Board sent a community email announcing the mistrial, restating a commitment to refining and enhancing its hiring practices, and denying that it discriminated against teachers.

"The district asserted, and continues to assert, that no employees are compensated or treated differently based on sex or any other factor related to their identity," said the statement, which was issued by the school board, minus member Rick Haring, the husband of one of the plaintiffs, who recused himself from matters involving the cases.

In the statement the board also praised teachers, staff and administrators calling their work "essential to developing and sustaining the excellent educational and extracurricular experience we strive to provide at CBSD, and we are immensely grateful for their dedication to our students and schools."

After the verdict was announced, CBSD teacher Rebecca Cartee-Haring, a plaintiff in a separate 2020 Equal Pay Act case tried jointly with the collective action case, announced she is resigning because she could no longer work for a district that showed disrespect to its teachers.

"I am more disappointed in the district releasing an email to the community immediately following the mistrial stating 'We are confident the district did not and does not engage in discrimination,'" she said. "A hung jury is not confirmation of no discrimination."

CBSD teacher Dawn Marinello, whose 2021 lawsuit included more than 300 other current and former female teachers, alleged the school district offered her and Cartee-Haring substantial settlements, if she dropped the collective action lawsuit, but they refused.

CBSD Board President Karen Smith, however, said that Marinello's statement about a settlement offer was "not accurate." Smith added that she was relieved that the district was able to prove its case to some jurors, but remains unsettled that some staff have concerns about their employment.

CBSD teacher tenure debated in closing arguments

In Tuesday's closing arguments at the federal court in Philadelphia, attorney Ed Mazurek, representing the teachers, argued that teachers do fundamentally the same job and require the same skills and certifications across the board. Therefore, the plaintiffs' attorney argued, some male teachers were paid more than female teachers despite similar experience or qualifications for no compelling reason other than gender.

He referenced a male teacher, John Donnelly, who was hired as a history teacher and football coach, whom Mazurek said was paid considerably more than his years of teaching experience would suggest.

Cartee-Haring was hired in 2007 and also worked as a varsity lacrosse coach in addition to teaching, and was hired with more years of teaching experience than the male teacher, but was paid much less, Mazurek said.Mazurek argued the district exhibited willful disregard in its alleged failure to prevent gender discrimination in teacher compensation.

He pointed to two male teachers he said were bumped up several steps on the salary scale after Cartee-Haring and Marinello filed their cases, while the district declined to increase the salaries of the two plaintiffs. No female teachers in the collective action had ever received a salary increase of more than one step at a time, Mazurek said.

Mazurek also used the example of another male teacher, Jim Bunn, who the lawyer said was put on step 13 in the district salary chart (nearer to the uppermost salary) despite only four years of teaching experience. Marinello, who entered the district with more teaching experience than Bunn, was put on step one.

The district's lawyer Michael Levin countered that Bunn was hired as both a teacher and as an administrator, splitting his time evenly between both jobs, so his job was not equal to Marinello’s. Levin accused the plaintiffs of “cherry picking” from the employment data. The defense provided a chart that included more employees as data points.

More: $119M settlement rejected as 'irresponsible' in Central Bucks equal pay lawsuit. Now what?

In his rebuttal, Mazurek countered that most of the male teachers excluded from the plaintiffs' salary chart were hired with no experience and placed at a step one, which he considered appropriate and irrelevant to the case.

Levin emphasized that the subject matter, such as Latin versus chemistry, constitutes a meaningful difference in teacher roles. He also pointed to differences between the roles of teachers and school nurses, some of whom have also joined the collective action suit.

In his jury instructions, Baylson stated jurors needed only one example of a male teacher treated more favorably on the basis of gender in order to find for the plaintiffs evidence of discrimination, among other questions the jury is required to answer in their verdict.

Additionally, the judge instructed the plaintiffs they did not need to prove that the discrimination was intentional, but that there was willful disregard.

Mazurek said that the district had previously argued that the HR director was not explicitly tasked with Equal Pay Act compliance. Mazurek used this as evidence of what he described as willful disregard.

Next step in CBSD collective action lawsuit

The judge invited the jurors to discuss their reasoning with attorneys on both sides on a voluntary basis in hopes it could help the parties determine whether they want to pursue a settlement. Another option is a retrial.

The parties held court-ordered settlement conferences to attempt to avoid a trial. The district rejected an offer Mazurek made last year to settle for $119 million. The school board president, Smith, described the settlement as "irresponsible" at the time, given the financial burden it would place on taxpayers.

Smith said after the trial Tuesday that the district would not be able to raise taxes enough to cover a settlement or judgment if they were required to pay all at once. The district would be forced to cut many programs, including arts, sports, and transportation.

More than 300 women who have taught in the district between 2000 and 2023 were a part of the collective action lawsuit that alleges the district gave female teachers less credit for prior years of experience in determining their salaries than it did for male teachers, resulting in a pay disparity.

More: Central Bucks budget took effect Monday with largest tax increase in a decade

Marinello's suit followed one filed by Cartee-Haring in 2020 that also alleges she was subjected to other forms of discrimination.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates

Reporter Jess Rohan can be reached at jrohan@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Hung jury in Central Bucks District equal pay lawsuit results in mistrial