City to pay $55K to ex-employee in equal-pay case
A former employee of the city's Minority and Women-Owned Business Development office who alleged she was paid nearly $20,000 less than a less-qualified male co-worker has reached a $55,000 settlement with the city.
Lawyers for Melissa Fulton, who worked for the office for three years until she was terminated in early 2010, reached a deal with the city late last month in the federal equal pay act case. The deal is slated to be approved by the city's spending board tomorrow.
Fulton was hired in 2007 shortly after Sheila Dixon was sworn in as mayor. A male co-worker, who had the same title and responsibilities, was paid nearly $20,000 more than her $55,000 annual salary, according to a federal law suit that Fulton filed.
A separate law suit alleging race, gender and age discrimination remains unresolved. Fulton filed a complaint with with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission late last year claiming that her termination was unlawful.
Fulton, the only white person among the four employees in her office, was the only person in her office fired when Stephanie Rawlings-Blake replaced Dixon as mayor last year, according to the complaint. She claims that she was terminated despite a spotless record, while her younger, black male counterpart who had been formally reprimanded, was retained.
Comments
No way. Do you mean to tell me that a white person was being discriminated against in Baltimore City? At city hall? WOW!!!!! Next thing someone will tell me that a Baltimore City mayor was involved in keeping gift cards.
Posted by: jmpg1956 | March 15, 2011 5:34 PM
Next thing they will admit is that when 10 blacks kick a white guy nearly to death while calling him whitey it may be a hate crime..
Posted by: deh1954 | March 15, 2011 6:50 PM
The whole city office and city council needs to be cleaned out. I'll point out again that while other cities have attorneys and other well-educated people steering the ship, Baltimore continues to elect people who are barely qualified to run an elementary school PTA.
Posted by: GENE | March 15, 2011 8:57 PM
To Gene, the mayor happens to be an attorney. It's utterly amazing the degree to which racism trumps all logic.
Posted by: trareg09 | March 16, 2011 7:20 AM
GENE - the Mayor (SRB) is an attorney and is well-educated, but I would like to point out, however, that being either of those does not automatically qualify you to run a city or be a politican. Remember Eliot Spitzer (former NY State Governor), he is a lawyer and went to Princeton.
Posted by: Realist | March 16, 2011 9:51 AM
To Trareg09, I agree, like the racism that fired the white employee and paid her 20K less than her black counter part!
As to SRB being an attorney, mediocre at best! I've seen her in court, have u?
Posted by: Brian | March 16, 2011 10:57 AM
White, Black, Yellow or whatever these people (city workers) make too much money.....they feed off the social trough like the pigs that they are....no wonder why the city is broke we are paying four people upwards of $75,000 a year to check facebook all day and get paid for vacation for every holiday under the sun.....1 love
Posted by: Mike | March 16, 2011 1:31 PM
JHU does it all the time
Posted by: Anonymous | March 16, 2011 1:59 PM
Baltimore City continues to be the cesspool that sucks thenlife-blood right out of the rest of thisn state. Why might that be? As Nicholson said in, 'A Few Good Men' (paraphrasing), "you want the TRUTH? You can't handle the TRUTH!"
Posted by: Carl Hackmann | March 17, 2011 1:20 PM