The law firm of Benezra & Culver PC is pleased to announce the settlement of a Class Action lawsuit filed in the Denver District Court and brought on behalf of a group of 386 female faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder (“UCB”). The Class Action lawsuit alleges wage discrimination based upon gender in violation of the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (CEPEWA), passed by the Colorado legislature and into law by Governor Polis in 2019, as well as the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII). A copy of the Class Complaint and Motion for Preliminary Approval of Settlement are attached.
The Class Representatives include a number of highly distinguished female faculty at the CU Boulder campus, including the current Chair of the Boulder Faculty Assembly (BFA), a Fulbright Scholar, multiple National Science Foundation Award winners, multiple National Academy of Science award winners, a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship winner, an elected member to the National Academy of Inventors, a Robert L. Stearns Award winner (for exceptional achievement or service by a UCB faculty member), a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, National Institute of Mental Health grant winners, a member of the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering College of Fellows, a Packard Fellow, a winner of the BFA Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarly and Creative Work and for Excellence in Teaching, a UCB President’s Teaching Scholar, a UCB Professor of Distinction, and former UCB Department Chairs and Associate Chairs. Benezra & Culver, PC, congratulates the class representatives for their hard work, commitment to equity, and their tenacity and determination in bringing this lawsuit and their hard work to achieve settlement.
The lawsuit asserted that UCB conducted an Equity Review in 2021 and determined that 386 female identifying faculty members were being paid less than similarly situated male faculty members in violation of the CEPEWA. Although UCB paid the female faculty raises, the school failed to pay backpay, a remedy that is legally required under the CEPEWA and under federal and state law. One of Plaintiffs’ goals in bringing this lawsuit is to bring an end to gender-based wage disparities at UCB.
The settlement provides that UCB will pay the class 4.5 million dollars in back pay, will agree to conduct follow up equity analyses every three years and will make available information regarding wages paid to UCB faculty to current faculty and applicants to guarantee equitable treatment of female identifying faculty with respect to wages going forward.
According to Lead Plaintiff Shelly Miller: “On behalf of the class representatives, I can report that we are pleased that this matter has been resolved. The Plaintiff class has worked hard to ensure that the settlement includes periodic equity reviews and wage transparency. This is a critical part of the settlement and will help reduce or eliminate pay disparities between female and male UCB faculty members going forward.”
One of the Plaintiffs, Katie Little, praised her co-plaintiffs for their bravery: “It was not easy to come forward publicly, but we all felt it was necessary. Only in pursuing this action could we draw attention to the fact that women’s concerns about pay discrimination have been dismissed or ignored and now need to be addressed. We think that this settlement, with its provision for wage transparency and equity reviews, is a step in the right direction: to a future where equity is not just a word but a commitment to action.”
Plaintiffs’ counsel Seth Benezra notes that: “The CEPEWA is a game changer. The statute addresses and closes loopholes that exist in other federal and state statutes prohibiting gender-based wage discrimination. It requires private and public employers to review their pay practices to ensure gender equity and it requires wage transparency. UCB is to be commended for taking this case seriously and implementing meaningful changes. It is the hope of Counsel and the Class Representatives that other institutions of higher education in Colorado will follow UCB’s lead by conducting an equity analysis, instituting wage transparency and addressing gender-based wage disparities that we are certain exist.”
Plaintiffs’ counsel Madeline Collison also states that: “This proposed settlement not only provides compensation to the class of female faculty members to address past pay inequities, but all faculty members will benefit from increased pay transparency and the University’s agreement to conduct future pay equity analyses targeted at preventing similar inequities from arising in the future.”
The Plaintiffs are represented by Seth J. Benezra, John A. Culver and Madeline A. Collison of the law firm of Benezra & Culver, PC, a Denver-based employment and civil rights law firm.