JACKSON, Miss. — The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Friday against the Mississippi State Senate, accusing it of racial discrimination for paying a Black former staff attorney significantly less than her white colleagues.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, claims that the Senate’s Legislative Services Office (LSO) violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by paying the attorney about half the salary of her white counterparts.
“Discriminatory employment practices, like paying a Black employee less than their white colleagues for the same work, are not only unfair, they are unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “This lawsuit makes clear that race-based pay discrimination will not be tolerated in our economy.”
According to the DOJ, the attorney, Kristie Metcalfe, worked in the Senate’s non-partisan LSO for eight years, providing legal services for all Senate members. Despite having the same job responsibilities as her white colleagues, Metcalfe was consistently paid a fraction of their salaries. The complaint alleges that the pay gap began when she was hired in 2011 at a starting salary well below any LSO attorney in the past 30 years.
The DOJ further claims the pay disparity widened after Metcalfe’s hiring, with other attorneys receiving raises that excluded her. Near the end of her tenure, the Senate reportedly hired a white attorney with no previous legislative experience at a significantly higher salary than Metcalfe’s, despite her similar years of legal experience. Metcalfe’s request for pay equity was denied after she raised the issue with Senate officials.
The Justice Department is seeking back pay, compensatory damages, and other relief for Metcalfe. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigated Metcalfe’s complaint before referring it to the DOJ, which has made enforcing Title VII a top priority.
“Race-based pay disparities have no place in our economy,” Clarke said.
