MANSFIELD, Conn. — The University of Connecticut has agreed to pay a total of just under $250,000 to seven female employees after the U.S. Labor Department found the school had been paying higher salaries to their male counterparts.
UConn has agreed to pay a total of $249,539 to two law professors and five women who hold the title of Specialist IA and Specialist IIA in its athletic department.
The agreement follows a review by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
The school says the findings date from between 2012 and 2014 and contends the salary discrepancies were not due to gender.
UConn released some comments regarding the case:
This matter stems from a routine audit conducted in 2014 in which the Department of Labor reviewed 2012 - 2014 compensation and demographic data for several thousand UConn employees. It was not the result of a complaint, nor did the agency determine or imply that there were any systemic problems involving UConn pay practices.
The seven cases each had individual complexities that were unique to those employees, but which UConn maintains was not due to gender. Although UConn disagreed with some of the methodology used by the auditors in reviewing those unique circumstances, the University felt it was in everyone’s best interest to resolve the matter and move forward.
UConn self-identified and rectified the issues several years ago in the case of one of the employees, correcting an error regarding their compensation. That correction ($92,290 paid to the employee in previous fiscal years) represents the largest among those listed in the DOL Conciliation Agreement.
The University will notify the other six employees about the findings and the results of the agreement, and will provide them with the appropriate amounts as well.
