ST. LOUIS (AP) – The former owner of a skilled nursing home in Raytown, Missouri, will pay $40,000 to settle a pay discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Commission, the agency said Wednesday.
Its federal lawsuit against Edgewood Manor OPCO, LLC, alleges 12 licensed practical nurses who worked at the facility were paid less than their male counterparts doing the same job, the agency said in a news release. The company paid the women $20 to $26.70 per hour, based on years of experience, while paying the men with the same or less experience $25 to $27 per hour.
U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner approved the consent decree awarding the monetary damages to the 12 female nurses. The decree requires the company, which no longer owns the facility, to work with professionals to review its pay practices.
It also must report if it resumes operation of any skilled nursing care facility in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska or Illinois within the next two years.
“Equal pay for equal work is a straightforward principle that has been the law for almost 60 years,” said Andrea G. Baran, the agency’s regional attorney in St. Louis. “Employers simply cannot pay women less than men for doing the same job.”
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