School district settles equal pay case

ST. LOUIS -- A school district has settled an equal pay discrimination suit, after the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit charging a female administrator was not paid enough based on the salaries of her male colleagues.

The St. Louis office of the EEOC said Thursday that the Fort Osage School District, based in Independence, Mo., agreed to pay the woman $215,000 to settle the suit.

The lawsuit, filed in July, claimed that the district violated the Equal Pay Act by paying the assistant superintendent of educational services, Jahala Kinser, less than men performing similar work.

The commission said Kinser had three decades of experience and excellent evaluations, but was paid less than a man who had the job before her, after her, and two male assistant superintendents who worked with her. The EEOC claimed the district did not renew her contract because of her complaints about the unequal pay.

Kinser also filed a separate sex discrimination claim under the Civil Rights Act. The combined case settled on the second day of a jury trial.

The school district will report the names, genders and salaries of its assistant superintendents to the EEOC.

A phone message left with the school district was not immediately returned Thursday.