On November 18, 2005, Plaintiffs, all women, filed a lawsuit against the Nassau County Police Department in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleging violations of the federal Equal Pay Act ("EPA"), 29 U.S.C. § 206(d), the New York State Equal Pay Act ("NYEPA"), N.Y. Lab. Law § 194, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiffs, represented by private counsels, sought to have their claims designated as part of a collective and class action suit, requested a permanent injunction against Defendants for violating the Equal Pay Act and state law, and also sought promotion and benefits, liquidated damages, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorneys' fees, expenses, and costs. Specifically, Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants discriminated against them by paying them wages substantially lower than those wages given to men doing equal work.

Plaintiffs compared their salaries to those of the all-male force of approximately 32 Fire Communication Technicians ("FCTs") and Fire Communication Technician Supervisors ("FCTSs"). They alleged that the County's Police Communications Officers ("PCOs") and Police Communications Officer Supervisors ("PCOSs") are paid less than its FCTs and FCTSs for substantially equal work. Over 90% of PCOs and PCOSs are women; 100% of FCTs and FCTSs are men. According to Plaintiffs, no woman has ever been employed as an FCT or FCTS. The pay scales for all four positions are determined by Nassau County's civil service grade ranking system. Within each grade, there are steps which correlate to seniority and compensation.

On August 09, 2009, the Court (Judge Frederic Block) granted Plaintiffs' motion to certify class.

Defendants moved for summary judgment in April 2007. On March 31, 2009, in a published opinion, the Court (Judge Frederic Block) granted Defendants' motion for summary judgment with respect to Plaintiffs' 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim, while denying the motion with respect to the Plaintiffs' other claims.

From July 2010, the parties went into settlement discussions regarding the remaining claims. On June 09, 2011, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Settlement. According to the Settlement Agreement, Defendants agreed to a $7 million payment to resolve female police communications officers' allegations that they were paid less than men in equivalent jobs. On December 22, 2011, the Court (Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson) granted the approval of the class action settlement in a Final Order.

Xin Chen - 01/21/2012


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