December 28, 2001

by Michele Keller, Web Editor

More than 300 current and former custodial workers who clean the halls and offices of Congress won a victory in the fight for pay equity last month by settling a class-action wage discrimination lawsuit.

The suit, filed in July 1997, charged that women custodial workers on Capitol Hill received significantly less pay than male workers who did essentially the same job.

U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan approved a $2.5 million settlement agreement last month that will be distributed to ensure that Capitol Hill custodians and laborers are compensated fairly for their work. Under the settlement agreement, the custodians — represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO — will receive raises of approximately ten percent, and lump sum payments for back wages.

The lawsuit, filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act, charged that the highest-paid female custodial worker on Capitol Hill received $10.08 per hour, while the highest-paid male laborer received $11.10 per hour. It was the first lawsuit ever filed under the Congressional Accountability Act, which ensures that the same laws that apply to average workers apply to congressional workers.

"(The) settlement shows that everyone must abide by the laws that govern our country, even those who are charged with the responsibility of making them," said Patricia Harris, the lead plaintiff in the case. "We hope that our victory will serve as an example for other women who are seeking equity in the workplace."

Before last month's settlement agreement, the average pay difference between male and female custodial workers on Capitol Hill was one dollar an hour, which means women were denied $40 a week, $2,000 a year and approximately $94,000 over a lifetime of paid work.

The National Organization for Women supported the custodial workers throughout the lawsuit. During the Women of Color and Allies Summit in February 1998, NOW activists joined them in a demonstration on Capitol Hill.

"It's been 38 years since the passage of the Equal Pay Act, and studies show that women still receive only 73 cents for every dollar men are paid," said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women. "When the Capitol Hill custodial workers settled this suit, they sent a message to the members of Congress whose offices they clean every day: You must do more to close the wage gap between men and women."