Justice Department says Mississippi Senate paid a Black attorney less than her white colleagues for years

The Department of Justice sued the Mississippi Senate on Friday, alleging that it discriminated against a Black employee for years by paying her “significantly less” than her white colleagues.

The DOJ said the state Senate’s Legal Services Office paid a Black staff attorney about half the salary of her white peers, in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The lawsuit said Kristie Metcalfe, who has since left her job, received compensation well below that of her white co-workers. Before Metcalfe’s hiring, the office had only employed white attorneys.

“Discriminatory employment practices, like paying a Black employee less than their white colleagues for the same work, are not only unfair, they are unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a news release Friday.

“The Black employee at issue in this lawsuit was paid about half the salary of her white colleagues in violation of federal law. This lawsuit makes clear that race-based pay discrimination will not be tolerated in our economy,” Clarke added.

The suit said the discrimination against Metcalfe began when she was hired in 2011 and continued for years. Metcalfe’s initial salary was significantly lower than that of any attorney within the office in over 30 years, and she did not receive pay increases when her colleagues did, widening the gap between them, according to the suit.

Near the end of her employment, in 2019, the office hired a white attorney with no previous legislative experience and a similar number of years of legal experience, awarding the new attorney a higher salary, the lawsuit said.

When Metcalfe confronted her employers and complained about the pay disparity, she was denied comparable pay, the suit said. As a result, Metcalfe resigned from her position.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican who presided over the Senate as lieutenant governor from 2012 to 2020, and current Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday night.

Metcalfe did not immediately respond to a request for comment either.

The Justice Department said it is seeking back pay and compensatory damages for Metcalfe, “in addition to injunctive and other appropriate relief.”