Penn State to Pay $703K to Resolve Gender Pay Discrimination Claims

Pennsylvania State University will pay $703,742 in back wages and interest and enter into a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve alleged gender pay discrimination against female employees.

Based on a compliance review, the Department of Labor said it found that, since at least July 1, 2020, Penn State allegedly paid 65 women employees less than men holding similar positions in facilities operations and maintenance, extension education and senior administration jobs. This also included some female faculty in research professor roles at the College of Engineering and the Applied Research Laboratory and some female faculty in teaching professor roles at the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.

In addition to paying the back wages, Penn State agreed to take steps to make sure its compensation practices and policies are free from discrimination.

The government said the university’s actions violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.

“Employers that hold federal contracts must provide all employees with equal employment opportunities and audit their employment processes to make certain no barriers to equal employment exist,” said Samuel B. Maiden, regional director of Philadelphia office of the federal contract compliance unit.

The state’s largest public university, Penn State is among the nation’s biggest universities. In 2024, Penn State received more than $178 million in payments from federal contracts with agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NASA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the departments of Defense and Agriculture.

Topics Claims