Princeton University has agreed to settle a Department of Labor lawsuit concerning pay discrimination related to former female professors. They agreed to pay over a million dollars in back pay and future wages to professors in an effort to make up for the differences that female professors made from the university.
According to the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, in a three-year span between 2012 and 2014, the school had 106 female professors that were full time at the Ivy League school. On average, the wages they made were significantly less than their male counterparts in the same fields. In a related matter that exposed the gap further in academia, Ohio State combed through their 2019 HR data and found an 11% gap between the two. Princeton agreed to settled it without admitting fault, with their spokesman Ben Chang. Cheng reported that despite no meaningful pay issue, "Despite our confidence in the merits of our position and our belief that we were (and are) in full compliance with both the letter and the spirit of the law, Princeton agreed to resolve the dispute to avoid lengthy and costly litigation and its impact on the faculty and the University," Chang said.
Wage discrimination is still a very serious issue facing employers and employees. Employers should take the time to see if what they are paying their employees fair wages regardless of their traits. [1]
[1] https://www.advisen.com/tools/fpnproc/fpns/articles_new_45/P/380086469.html?rid=380086469&list_id=45
