On Friday, the Justice Department initiated legal action against the Mississippi State Senate, claiming that a former Black staff attorney was compensated at roughly half the rate of her white peers throughout her eight years of service.

Kristie Metcalfe, who became the first attorney of color hired by the state Senate in over 30 years, carried out the same legislative responsibilities as her counterparts. However, according to the federal filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, she was persistently underpaid by $40,000 to $60,000 compared to the lowest-paid white attorney.

The complaint alleges that the state Senate breached Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids racial discrimination in employment, including pay disparities based on race, gender, national origin, or religion.

“Unjust employment practices, such as underpaying a Black employee compared to their white colleagues for identical work, are not just inequitable; they are illegal,” remarked Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke from the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. “This lawsuit underscores our commitment to eradicating race-based wage discrimination in the workplace.”

Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who is the state Senate president, did not respond immediately to YSL News’s inquiry regarding the lawsuit on Friday.

Claims of ongoing pay discrimination

Metcalfe was employed by the Mississippi State Senate in December 2011 as a full-time staff attorney in the Legislative Services Office, which drafts legislation and provides various legal services to Senate members.

The initial salary of $55,000 that Metcalfe received was the lowest starting salary since 1996, outpaced by office director and other full-time staff salaries which ranged from $95,550 to $121,800 at the time.

For the 34 years prior to Metcalfe’s hiring, the complaint indicated that the Senate exclusively hired white attorneys, and throughout Metcalfe’s tenure, she was the sole attorney of color.

One month after her hiring, the state Senate granted substantial raises to all her colleagues, further increasing the salary gap. Two staff members received raises amounting to $18,450, which the complaint highlighted as approximately three times greater than what was awarded for a colleague’s promotion to an office director role.

In December 2018, the state Senate brought on a white man for the same role Metcalfe held with a starting salary of $101,500, despite having less experience. His initial compensation was about $24,000 more than what Metcalfe earned at that time, seven years into her employment.

Following this new hire, Metcalfe raised concerns about the salary discrepancy in a meeting with then-state Senator Terry Burton and three other Senate officials. Her request to have her pay aligned with the new attorney’s was declined, leading to her resignation in November 2019.

In May 2019, Metcalfe filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming that the state Senate had discriminated against her due to her race. The EEOC found reasonable grounds for her allegations of race-based discrimination and sought to rectify the issue, eventually forwarding the matter to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors are asking for a jury trial. The Justice Department seeks back pay, compensatory damages for Metcalfe, and “injunctive and other appropriate relief.” They are also urging the court to mandate the Mississippi State Senate to develop measures and procedures to eliminate racial discrimination against employees protected under Title VII.

Continuing wage inequality for Black workers

Workers of color and women have historically faced unequal pay, and studies indicate that these gaps remain persistent long after laws ensuring equal pay were enacted at the federal level.

A study conducted in 2023 by the Economic Policy Institute, which focuses on economic disparities, highlighted that the racial wage gap for Black workers has remained relatively unchanged since the 1970s. On average, Black workers earn 23% less than their white counterparts, compared to 22% in 1973. Additionally, the findings reveal that the average white family possesses eight times more wealth than a Black family.

While the pay gap for women has narrowed since the 43% average pay disparity compared to men in 1973, the situation is worse for women of color. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2022, white women faced a 20% pay gap when compared to white men, while Black women experienced a 31% and Hispanic women saw a 43% pay disparity.