Seven Female Denver Law Profs To Receive $2.7m In EEOC Settlement Of Equal Pay Claim

Following up on my previous posts (links below):  Press Statement of Prof. Lucy Marsh, EEOC Equal Pay Case Against University of Denver Law School Settles For $2,660,000 and Sweeping Reforms:

In early 2013 Prof. Lucy Marsh discovered she was the lowest paid, though second most senior full professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She asked law dean Martin Katz what he was going to do about pay discrimination against women at the school. “Nothing,” was his answer. So she decided to do something about it herself.

After five years of investigations, attempts at resolution, passionate support from students, alumni, and the legal community, unjustified attacks by the D.U. administration, multiple depositions, and three months of mediation, something big is happening, with wide-ranging implications for equal pay for women throughout the country. ...

As set forth in the Consent Decree, D.U. will pay Marsh and six female colleagues $ 2.66 million for back pay, compensatory damages, and attorneys’ fees. The law school will also significantly increase the compensation of all seven going forward with the goal of pay equity between male and female
professors at the law school.

Beyond the monetary payment, the Consent Decree contains significant provisions that will govern DU’s future behavior. For the first time there will be an end to pay secrecy for faculty at the law school. The school must submit to five years of outside oversight by an external monitor, provide compensation data and criteria, obtain annual pay equity studies from an outside labor economist, and meet a number of other training and recordkeeping and reporting duties. By the Decree, DU is permanently prohibited from sex discrimination affecting compensation at the law school.

• ABA Journal, After Previously Defending Lower Pay For Female Profs, DU Law School Enters EEOC Consent Decree
• ABC News, Female Law Professors Hope Settlement Leads to Change
• Above the Law, Law School Settles With Female Law Professors For $2.6 Million
• Denver Business Journal, DU Settles Unequal Pay Lawsuit, Will Pay $2.66 million to 7 Female Professors
• Denver Post, University of Denver Will Pay $2.7 Million to Settle Unequal-Pay Lawsuit Brought by Female Law Professors
• Inside Higher Ed, Denver U Settles EEOC Claim, Agrees To Pay $2.7m To Seven Female Law Professors
• Law.com, EEOC, Women Law Profs Settle Bias Suit Against Denver School for $2.7M

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Female Denver Law Prof Files EEOC Complaint Over Lowest Salary Among Tenured Professors ($109,000) ( (July 11, 2013)
• EEOC: Denver Law School Is Underpaying Female Faculty, Who May Recover $1.2 Million In Damages (Sept. 1, 2015)
• EEOC To Sue Denver Law School For Underpaying Female Faculty (Oct. 1, 2016)
• More On The EEOC's Lawsuit Against Denver Law School For Underpaying Female Faculty (Oct. 3, 2016)
• The Market Myth And Pay Disparity in Legal Academia: We Should Amend The Equal Pay Act To Prohibit Market Excuses For Pay Differentials (Oct. 26, 2016)
• Denver Law School Faces Federal Equal Pay Lawsuit From Eight Female Professors (May 15, 2017)
• Three More Female Law Profs Sue University Of Denver Over Pay Gap (June 20, 2017)
• DuVivier, Sterling (Associate Dean For Faculty Scholarship) Join Lawsuit Alleging Gender Discrimination In Faculty Salaries At Denver Law School (Aug. 23, 2017)