The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA), alleging that Maryland’s insurance regulatory agency paid its women investigators and enforcement officers lower wages compared to their male counterparts for performing substantially equal work.
The EEOC filed its complaint against the MIA on April 15 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division.
MIA spokesperson Vivian D. Laxton told Insurance Journal that MIA strongly disputes the allegations. “The case will be vigorously defended,” the spokesperson said.
In its complaint, the EEOC alleges that the MIA has violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Equal Pay Act by paying Alexandra Cordaro, Mary Jo Rogers, Marlene Green, and a class of similarly situated female employees lower wages than those paid to their male colleagues for performing equal work as investigators and/or enforcement officers.
“The practices include paying wages to its female investigators and/or enforcement officers at rates less than the rates paid to male employees in the same establishment for substantially equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions,” the EEOC alleged in the complaint. This alleged unlawful practice was willful and has been taking place since at least December 2009, according to EEOC.
The EEOC is seeking a permanent injunction prohibiting the MIA from engaging in its alleged practice. The EEOC also requested that the MIA institute and carry out policies, practices, and programs which provide equal employment opportunities for women and which eradicate the effects of its alleged past and present unlawful employment practices.
The EEOC also requested that the MIA pay appropriate back wages in amounts to be determined, an equal sum as liquidated damages and prejudgment interest, an award to the EEOC for the costs of bringing this complaint, and any further relief as the court deems necessary and proper.
The case is U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Plaintiff, v. Maryland Insurance, Defendant, in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division. Case 1:15-cv-01091-JFM, filed April 15, 2015.
The following is a copy of the EEOC complaint.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/262488386/EEOC-Maryland-Insurance-Administration-Complaint
Related:
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Washington Insurance Commissioner Fines Unite Health, Others $500K for Violations 
As Rates Rise, Majority of Homeowners Say Insurance Industry Is in Crisis: Survey 
US Home Insurance Still Priced Too Low for Climate Risk, Says Swiss Re Chair 
State Farm Seeking Large Rate Increases in Wildfire-Prone California 
