A federal magistrate judge has approved a $7 million settlement in a six-year-old class action in which female Nassau County Police Department employees alleged violations of federal and state equal pay statutes. Six named plaintiffs, working for Nassau County as either police communication officers or supervisors, alleged the county, its police department and its civil service commission discriminated against them by paying higher wages to men performing jobs requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility. But after filing the action in 2005 and a vigorous phase of litigation, the parties began negotiating a settlement in June 2010 culminating in the Dec. 22 approval by Eastern District Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson (See Profile).
Under the terms of the settlement in Ebbert v. Nassau County, 05-cv-5445, all class members—estimated by plaintiffs’ attorneys to be between 230 and 250 members—are entitled to back pay from November 1999 to June 2011. At an August 2011 fairness hearing, one attorney for the plaintiffs estimated individual class members could get awards ranging from $2,000 to $80,000, depending on factors like seniority. Each of the six named plaintiffs is also entitled to $20,000. The settlement will set aside an added $50,000 to cover the agreement’s administration and the magistrate judge will retain jurisdiction over the settlement for the next two years.
