A University of Texas at Austin faculty member has filed a lawsuit against the school for alleged discrimination against its female employees leading to the wider pay gap.
Linda S Mullenix, who is a professor at the university’s School of Law, filed the suit on Thursday alleging the school engaging in equal pay act violations, sex discrimination, and retaliation against her.
She has accused the school of paying at least $134,449 less than a male colleague with the same above-average teacher evaluation rating, but almost a decade less teaching experience.
Importantly, Mullenix, with at least 45 years of experience, holds the Rita and Morris Atlas Chair in Advocacy and teaches first-year civil procedure, mass tort litigation, and a seminar of transnational class litigation.
In her suit, she alleges that the school retaliated against her when she raked up the issue of pay discrimination and brought equal pay act violations to the school’s attention.
“Since Professor Mullenix brought these issues to light, UT Law has given her some of the lowest raises of any faculty member, actually increased the pay disparity between her and her male colleagues, and attempted to get her to retire,” the statement from law firm Wiley Walsh representing Mullenix said in a release.
The lawsuit further accuses the school of relegating her to “do-nothing committees” for speaking up against discrimination.
A recent survey conducted by the AAUP found the pay gap in the salaries between males and females at full-time positions is increasing, Over the last academic year, female faculty were paid 81.6 percent of the salaries of males. This has primarily been attributed to an unequal distribution of employment between men and women in terms of institution type and faculty rank.
Last year, a $20 million lawsuit was filed against the University of Arizona by Katrina Miranda, an associate professor in chemistry and biochemistry for denying equal access to work resources, promotion and of retaliation, if any faculty member complains against it.