Harmony Public Schools, a Texas-based charter school chain, has agreed to pay $125,000 in lost wages and compensatory damages to a former teacher who claimed she was paid less than a male colleague and retaliated against for speaking out.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the consent decree, which will resolve claims of retaliation and pay discrimination against Nicole M. Tuchscherer, a former teacher at Harmony Science Academy-Austin.
Tuchscherer, who taught art at the school for five years, earned $40,000 in her fifth year of teaching, while a male art teacher with no previous experience was paid $44,000 by Harmony Public Schools to teach at another Austin-area school.
According to the EEOC suit, filed on October 30, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Harmony Public Schools violated the Equal Pay Act of 1963 when it paid Tuchscherer less than a male teacher who performed the same or substantially similar work, and when it retaliated against her for opposing such compensation practices.
The Justice Department’s complaint, which was filed with the consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleges that Harmony Public Schools violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it retaliated against Tuchscherer by failing to renew her teaching contract because she complained of pay discrimination.
Under the terms of the consent decree, Harmony Public Schools has agreed to include two previously-written reference letters in Tuchscherer’s official personnel file, develop and distribute comprehensive anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation policies, and train employees at its five Austin-area schools regarding employee rights and employer obligations under the EPA and Title VII.
“Both Title VII and the Equal Pay Act protect employees who have the courage to challenge discriminatory compensation practices from unlawful retaliation by their employers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels.
The consent decree requires Harmony Public Schools to pay $125,000 in lost wages and compensatory damages to Tuchscherer, and to implement changes to prevent future retaliation and pay discrimination.
Defendant: Harmony Public Schools
Crime: Retaliation & Pay Discrimination
State: Texas
Date: October 30, 2012
Sentence: Pay $125,000 in lost wages and compensatory damages, implement changes to prevent future retaliation and pay discrimination
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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