DALLAS — Denton County of Texas has reached a settlement with the federal government to resolve a lawsuit alleging the county's health department paid a female doctor less than a male doctor.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a lawsuit was filed by the agency against Denton County in 2017 for violating the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The EEOC alleges the county hired a male physician at its public health department to perform the same job duties as a female primary care clinician, Dr. Martha Storrie, who had been working for the county and providing medical services at the county's clinics for seven years. The newly hired male physician was paid a starting annual salary of more than $34,000 above Storrie's current salary, the EEOC said.
"Dr. Storrie was a very well qualified and competent physician for Denton County," EEOC Dallas District Office supervisory trial attorney Suzanne Anderson said in a statement. "Dr. Storrie was board certified in adult and pediatric urology, hospice and palliative medicine and a certified correctional health care professional. She received cards and letters from many of her patients, thanking her for her competent and caring treatment, so she expressed surprise when she learned the county paid her less than the new hire."
The final judgment reached in the settlement includes $115,000 in damages to be paid to Storrie, according to the EEOC. In addition, Denton County will implement a new compensation policy for all new physicians in the public health department.