Denver’s female prosecutors, assistant city attorneys and judicial officers make an average of thousands to tens of thousands of dollars less than their male peers, according to a recent lawsuit filed by Denver’s top career services judge, who claims she made less than a man she supervised.
A civil lawsuit against Denver in U.S. District Court on behalf of Valerie McNaughton, the chief judicial officer of Denver Career Services, claims that when she complained about the pay discrepancy, her bosses demoted her.
McNaughton seeks compensatory damages for emotional distress, back pay, injunctive relief and attorneys fees, according to the lawsuit filed by Denver attorneys Charlotte Sweeney and Ariel DeFazio.
The lawsuit claims that female employees in both the Denver city attorney’s office and Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey’s office are paid less than their male peers.
In the city attorney’s office, male non-supervisory and supervisory attorneys receive average salaries that are $21,000 and $22,300 more than their female counterparts, respectively.
In Morrissey’s office, male non-supervisory and supervisory attorneys receive average salaries that are $7,800 and $11,200 more than their female counterparts, respectively.
“Female heads of (Denver) agencies do not receive the same pay and titles as male agency heads for performing the same duties,” the lawsuit says.
In a statement, Acting City Attorney Shaun Sullivan said that, “while the city cannot comment of this pending litigation, pay equity is an important value in the City Attorney’s Office and we work hard to pay at levels that take into consideration every attorney and staff member’s experience, expertise, market conditions, and the relative pay of others in the office with similar experience.”
Lynn Kimbrough, Morrisey’s spokeswoman, said that his office is not a
defendant in the lawsuit and added that the claims made about pay
differences in the office between male and female prosecutors is
inaccurate. She said the office will release more details later.
The pay discrepancies cited in McNaughton’s report among hearing judges and city attorneys and prosecutors is consistent with what the Women’s Foundation of Colorado has discovered in its studies, said Lisa Christie, the foundation’s spokeswoman.
“Women make 80 percent of what men make in Colorado,” she said. The discrepancy is even greater for minorities, Christie said.
What sets McNaughton’s case apart is that she was the chief hearing officer for Denver’s Career Service Hearing Office, which is the merit system administrative forum for the city and county of Denver’s 8,000 employees, the lawsuit says.
McNaughton was hired as the lead hearing officer on April 16, 2004, for $74,040. Soon after, she was promoted to the position of chief hearing officer. As such, she was responsible for the administration, budget, personnel and operation of the career hearing office. In 2008, she took over administration of Denver’s employment mediation program.
But city hearing officer Bruce Plotkin was hired two weeks after McNaughton in 2004 for $5,000 more than McNaughton was paid. Upon her promotion, McNaughton’s salary was above Plotkin’s for about a year.
In 2010, Plotkin’s salary was increased to the same level as McNaughton’s at $102,099, even though she had administrative as well as hearing officer duties. He had received a $6,587 raise that year and McNaughton did not receive any raise, the lawsuit says.
Between 2011 and 2014, Plotkin’s salary surpassed McNaughton’s salary. By 2014, he was making more than $4,000 above McNaughton even though she continued to be his supervisor. Her benefits were likewise less than his, the lawsuit says.
In December 2013, Career Service Board members Colleen Rea and Patti Klinge told McNaughton that she was not and never had been the chief hearing officer and they would not rectify pay discrepancies between McNaughton and Plotkin.
The city retaliated against McNaughton because of sex discrimination complaints she made, by continuing to raise Plotkin’s salary proportionately higher than hers. They required her to keep a detailed log of her daily tasks and submit it weekly.
She filed a sex discrimination charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The agency issued McNaughton a “right to sue” on Feb. 26, the lawsuit says.
In March 2016, Denver effectively froze her wages “for the remainder of her employment.”
According to the Women’s Foundation of Colorado:
- Women with an associate’s degree earn an average of $39,300 compared with men with some college education, who earn $48,000.
- Women with a bachelor’s degree earn an average of $50,000 compared with men with an associate’s degree, who earn $51,000.
- Women with a graduate degree earn an average of $64,000 compared with men with a bachelor’s degree, who earn $69,000.
