The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has reached a proposed settlement with 85 of its employees who sued the agency alleging employment discrimination because the Bureau allegedly paid minority employees less than their White counterparts while also retaliating against those who complained about the pay and working conditions.
A copy of the proposed settlement in the case of Jones and Paz-Chow v. Chopra and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can be accessed by clicking here.
The employees originally filed their suit back in 2018, alleging a myriad of failures on the part of the Bureau where individuals were disproportionately treated based on their race, such as paying minorities and women lower wages, using performance evaluations that resulted in higher performance ratings for White or male employees compared with African-American and Hispanic employees and women, an excluding minorities and women from projects that were regularly offered to White or male employees.
The two named plaintiffs began their quest back in 2014, first using the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before filing their lawsuit.
Under the proposed settlement, the CFPB will create a fund of $6 million to compensate members of the class, cover attorney’s fees, and cover any other costs of administering the settlement. The members of the class will be African-American and Hispanic employees who served in non-supervisory positions between 2011 and 2022 in the CFPB’s Office of Consumer Response.
The amount that any one member of the class can receive under the settlement will be capped at $300,000 in order to ensure that no member of the class is paid a disproportionate sum. The plaintiff’s attorneys will receive an amount no greater than 25% of the settlement fund.
