Home Healthcare Companies Resolve Alleged Discrimination Against Female Employees by Paying Them Less than Male Employees

WASHINGTON -- Inova Home Health, LLC (IHH) and Alternate Solutions Health Network, LLC (ASHN), which owns in-part and operates IHH, have agreed to pay $105,000 and provide other relief to settle a pay discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to EEOC’s lawsuit, IHH and ASHN provide home healthcare coordination services to patients at the Inova Health System in northern Virginia, including through the services of their post-acute care coordinators (PACCs). The EEOC alleged IHH and ASHN paid female PACCs less than male coworkers for performing equal work under similar working conditions. Female PACCs with no performance issues were paid less than their newly-hired male counterparts despite having more job-related experience in the healthcare field and more seniority in the PACC position. IHH and ASHN also refused to adjust female PACCs’ wages after receiving a complaint of pay discrimination.

This alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibit pay discrimination based on sex. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (EEOC v. Inova Home Health, LLC et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-00264) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to the $105,000 in monetary relief paid to three female PACCs named in the lawsuit, the consent decree resolving the litigation requires IHH and ASHN to take affirmative steps to prevent pay discrimination in the future. This includes implementation of enhanced compensation and discrimination policies, training for human resources and management officials involved in compensation decisions, notices to employees about their rights, and an internal compensation audit. IHH and ASHN have also agreed to raise the pay of still-employed aggrieved individuals to correspond with their male counterparts.

"The Equal Pay Act turned 60 this year and securing the promise of that law, equal pay for equal work, remains a priority for the EEOC,” said Philadelphia Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence.

“Pay disparities persist in many workplaces, said EEOC Washington Field Office District Director Mindy Weinstein. “Employers should be proactively assessing their own compensation systems, identifying any disparities between employees of the opposite sex who perform the same work, and determining whether real, job-related factors actually explain the disparity.”

For more information about equal pay and compensation, see: https://www.eeoc.gov/equal-paycompensation-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Washington Field Office has jurisdiction over Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office prosecute discrimination cases within the jurisdiction of the Washington Field Office.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.