AccentCare to Pay $26,000 in EEOC Equal Pay and Retaliation Suit

PHILADELPHIA – AccentCare, Inc., a Texas home healthcare services company with an office in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, will pay $26,000 to settle an equal pay and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, female licensed practical nurses working out of AccentCare’s Pottsville, Pennsylvania, location were paid less than a male colleague, despite their superior qualifications. After one of the women repeatedly complained about the gender-based pay disparity and requested a raise, AccentCare terminated her employment, the EEOC charged.

The company’s alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which prohibit sex-based pay discrimination and retaliation for opposing discrimination. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (EEOC v. AccentCare, Inc., Case No. 3:24-cv-01646-RDM), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to providing monetary relief, the two-year consent decree settling the suit includes relief designed to prevent further discrimination. This includes training on the EPA and Title VII for personnel who are involved in compensation decisions for AccentCare’s Pottsville office, the posting of a notice to employees there reiterating their rights under Title VII and the EPA, and a requirement that AccentCare report any complaints of sex-based pay discrimination to the EEOC.

Debra M. Lawrence, the Regional Attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office, said, “Employers have a legal duty to ensure equal pay for equal work, and they cannot retaliate against employees who raise concerns about pay discrimination.”

For more information about equal pay and compensation discrimination, visit: https://www.eeoc.gov/equal-paycompensation-discrimination. For more information on retaliation, see: https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.