The lawsuit, filed by over 100 female teachers, seeks fair pay for the women compared to their male colleagues.
130 female teachers are suing Central Bucks School District, accusing them of violating the Equal Pay Act which prohibits sex-based wage discrimination, requiring that men and women performing jobs under similar working conditions with equal skill, effort, and responsibility receive equal pay.
The current and former female teachers say they were cheated out of pay while male teachers were properly or overly compensated, according to the lawsuit.
The teachers suing the district are requesting back pay. Central Bucks School District told a local news source that it is aware of the lawsuit and is working with legal counsel.
A mistrial was declared over the matter in August, when a federal judge said any teachers that wanted to pursue claims against the school needed to file individual lawsuits rather than as a collective.
Individuals were not named in the lawsuit of 130 female educators.
In the lawsuit, the women say they were placed at lower steps on the district’s salary scale than their prior years of experience should have allowed. The lawsuit alleges that the male teachers were placed on the pay scale consummate with their years of experience and sometimes bumped to a higher level despite not meeting the requirements.
Female teachers are allegedly being paid less than male teachers despite having “substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility, under similar working conditions,” according to the lawsuit.