Female workers say male counterparts earn more
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
BY ART AISNER The Ann Arbor News
Thirty female nurses and physician assistants are suing the University of Michigan, alleging they are paid less than their male colleagues in violation of federal and state law.
The group, comprised of U-M Health System employees from the cardiology, oncology and radiology departments, claims in the suit that the university discriminated against them by paying males in comparable jobs more over the past three years.
They filed suit last month in Washtenaw County Circuit Court, but the case was recently moved to federal court at the university's request because it alleges the university breached the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963. That law prohibits pay discrimination based on gender, records show.
The nurses and physician assistants are seeking back wages, monetary damages and a judicial order that forces pay increases and ensures fair compensation in the future.
That assurance is already part of the process, university officials said.
Katie Vloet, spokeswoman for the U-M Health System, said both nurse practitioners and physician assistants are predominantly female, but that factor is excluded when determining pay.
"The university has carefully studied the pay of the its nurse practitioners and physician assistants and has determined that it is appropriate and not discriminatory in any way,'' Vloet said in a written statement. "We are confident that a court will agree that the university establishes its pay in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner, and not on the basis of gender.''
The local suit states male physician assistants, who have increased at the hospital in recent years, are paid more than females on average and continue to receive raises elevating their pay above women doing the same work. That is a violation of Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on race, religion and gender, the suit claims.
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