A judge has ruled in favor of a psychologist who sued a Bangor hospital after discovering she was being paid about half the hourly wage of her male counterparts.
U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker ruled Tuesday that Acadia Hospital violated the Maine Equal Pay Act by paying Dr. Clare Mundell less than her male colleagues for comparable work. Per the ruling, the hospital now owes her triple damages for lost wages, totaling over $200,000, according to law firm Johnson, Webbert & Garvan LLP, which represented Mundell.
“The evil redressed by (the Equal Pay Act) is decidedly the impact of unequal pay for comparable work, regardless of the employer’s motivation,” Walker wrote in his decision.
Suzanne Spruce, Northern Light vice president and chief marketing and communications officer, said the company disagrees with the judge’s ruling and intends to appeal.
“Northern Light Health is committed to treating all of its employees, regardless of gender, or any other protected class, fairly and equitably as it works to provide top quality care to the people of Maine, especially during this pandemic,” she said in a statement.
Spruce did not respond to an email asking why there was such a large pay gap between Mundell and her peers at the hospital.
Mundell joined Acadia Hospital, an acute care and mental health facility, as a pool psychologist in November 2017. She became part of a team with four others who were responsible for a range of services, including psychological testing,...
A nursing home run by the family of Kim Keon-hee lost the first trial in a lawsuit seeking to cancel the National Health Insurance Service's disposition to claw back about 1.4 billion won in long-...