DOJ lawsuit: Mississippi Senate paid Black attorney half what white colleagues made

DOJ lawsuit: Mississippi Senate paid Black attorney half what white colleagues made

by Emily Wagster Pettus, Associated Press

November 11, 2024

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Senate discriminated against a Black attorney by paying her about half of what her white colleagues were paid for doing the same job, the U.S. Justice Department says in a lawsuit it filed Friday.

[snip]

Kristie Metcalfe worked as a staff attorney for the Mississippi Senate’s Legislative Services Office from December 2011 to November 2019. Attorneys for the nonpartisan office write bills and handle other legal questions for the 52 senators. Many of them stay on the job for decades.

The Senate office employed only white attorneys for at least 34 years before Metcalfe was hired, and she was the only Black attorney on staff during her time there, the lawsuit said.

Metcalfe’s starting salary was $55,000, while other Senate staff attorneys were paid $95,550 to $121,800, according to the lawsuit. The other attorneys received pay raises about a month after Metcalfe was hired, making their salary range $114,000 to $136,416. Metcalfe did not receive a raise then.

https://mississippitoday.org/2024/11/11/mississippi-senate-doj-lawsuit-discrimination-black-attorney-paid-half-white-tate-reeves/