Arkansas’ G4S Youth Services Hit with Pay Discrimination Lawsuit

G4S Youth Services, a former manager of programs and services at a juvenile correction and detention facility in Alexander, Ark., violated federal law by paying a female facility investigator less than it paid the male employee who formerly held the position, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has asserted in a lawsuit.

The EEOC’s lawsuit alleges that G4S Youth Services initially hired a male employee into the facility investigator position. After less than six months, a female employee replaced the male in that position. The company, however, paid her $10,000 less per year than it paid the male, according to the EEOC. Approximately a year later, the woman learned of the pay disparity and requested equal pay, but G4S Youth Services never increased her pay.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages. Pay discrimination also violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination, including compensation, on the basis of sex.

The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. G4S Youth Services, LLC., Civil Action No. 4:17-cv-387-SWW) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division, after its Little Rock Area Office completed an investigation and after the agency first attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

The EEOC seeks injunctive relief prohibiting G4S Youth Services from discriminating against female employees in the future, as well as monetary damages, including back pay, liquidated damages and compensatory and punitive damages.

G4S Youth Services, LLC, managed programs and services for a juvenile correction and detention facility in Alexander, Ark. According to its website, G4S’s parent company, G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc., is based in Florida and employs over 50,000 people in the United States and Canada.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits USA Arkansas