U.S. files suit alleging Clark County discrimination
For the past decade, Therese Scupi has been the diversity director at Clark County, overseeing a department tasked with reinforcing county policies that forbid discrimination.
Now, Scupi, a black woman, is at the center of a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against Clark County that alleges pay inequities and employment bias due to gender and race. The department filed the civil lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.
“Women and men deserve equal pay for equal work, and federal law holds employers to that responsibility,” said Director Amy Burkholder for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Las Vegas office, in a statement. “We were pleased to work with the Department of Justice on this case and are hopeful that employers take note of the need to address such discrimination in the workplace.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for Scupi for back pay and the “pain and suffering” the county caused. The department is also asking for a court order requiring the county to correct policies and practices that the federal government says are discriminatory.
“We believe her claims are totally without merit and we look forward to proving our case in court,” county spokeswoman Stacey Welling said.
Scupi was hired by the county in 1999 as a human resources analyst and promoted to diversity director in 2002.
The complaint alleges Scupi was paid less than other administrators and less than one assistant director. Scupi was hired at a starting salary of $70,185 in a job with a pay range of $68,265 to $105,788, according to the lawsuit.
By comparison, the lawsuit claims, three other directors, two white males and one white female, made salaries between $89,980 and $94,993. The highest salary listed in the lawsuit’s comparison went to an unidentified white female who earned $94,993.
Scupi first complained in 2006 and filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2007. She alleges that after filing the complaint, her responsibilities started diminishing. She says she was denied access to the county manager’s office and excluded from meetings about equal employment opportunity issues. The denial of access was significant, the lawsuit says, because personnel records are kept there and access is needed by the county’s Office of Diversity.
Scupi’s base salary is $106,704, according to county data. In 2013, she received $18,335 in other payment types beyond the base salary, which included a $6,000 annual vehicle allowance, county records show.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact reporter Ben Botkin at bbotkin @reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Follow him on Twitter @BenBotkin1.
