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Phyllis Williams, an African American woman, had worked as a television news reporter for KOKH, in Oklahoma City, for nearly eight years when she complained to KOKH and to the EEOC that she was paid less than similarly situated male employees and similarly situated white female employees. After she filed her charge with the EEOC, Ms. Williams was denied a pay increase in retaliation for her complaints. EEOC filed suit on behalf of Ms. Williams, and in March 2011, KOKH agreed to pay $45,000 to settle the lawsuit. KOKH also agreed to develop anti-discrimination policies and provide anti-discrimination training to its employees.

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Amanda McMillan had worked at Forrest City Grocery Company in Shaw, Mississippi for nearly a decade. Though hired as a clerical employee, Ms. McMillan had been assigned inside sales duties for some time, where she excelled, performing similar work to that of the company’s more highly paid and all male outside salespersons. Then, in 2007, she asked to be promoted to a vacant outside sales position. Despite being qualified and having performed similar duties for some time, she was denied the job. Forrest City Grocery told her that the work was too dangerous for a woman and that she would not be a good mother if she were on the road meeting customers. The company also denied her requests for a raise to match her pay to that of outside salespersons. When another outside sales position became available at the company five months later, Ms. McMillan was again turned down. The EEOC sued, and in October 2011, Forrest City Grocery agreed to pay $125,000 to Ms. McMillan to settle the lawsuit. As part of the settlement, the company also agreed to be monitored by the EEOC, to provide copies of its employment policies to employees, and to provide ongoing training for management to help prevent future violation of federal employment discrimination laws.

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Sheila Davidson worked as a Human Resources Regional Director at Amtrak in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and since 2001 she had been paid less than her male counterparts. Over a period of five years, she watched Amtrak increase the salaries of her male colleagues while refusing to pay her more, despite the fact that she had equal or greater experience and a significantly heavier workload. After refusing to raise her salary, Amtrak immediately increased the pay of one of Ms. Davidson’s male colleagues when he was assigned to a region that was formerly her territory. When she raised the issue and filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC, Amtrak retaliated by excluding her from senior staff meetings. The EEOC sued, and in February 2011, Amtrak agreed to pay Ms. Davidson $171,483 and increase her salary by $16,505 to match it to that of the male colleague whose salary was raised when he was assigned to Davidson’s former territory. The settlement also prohibits Amtrak from engaging in any further sex discrimination and requires the rail carrier to provide training to senior human resources staff, to help prevent future violation of federal employment discrimination laws.

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Tabatha Wagner learned that she was being paid less than a male colleague who was hired after her at Hyundai Ideal Electric Company. After she raised the issue to the company’s human resources manager, she was fired in retaliation for complaining. The EEOC sued, and in May 2011, Hyundai Ideal Electric agreed to pay $188,000 to Ms. Wagner to settle the lawsuit. As part of the settlement, the company also agreed to provide training for all human resource personnel and employees at their Mansfield, Ohio facility, to help prevent future violation of federal employment discrimination laws.

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