A long-time employee of a Pennsylvania university has filed a lawsuit alleging discriminatory employment practices. Janet Malouf, through her attorney Sidney L. Gold, Esquire of The Gold Law Firm, P.C., filed the complaint against Kutztown University in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on June 5, 2024.
Janet Malouf has been employed by Kutztown University since July 1994 and currently holds the position of Head Coach for the women's basketball team. Despite her exceptional job performance over nearly three decades, Malouf claims she has been subjected to ongoing pay discrimination based on her sex. According to the complaint, upon her initial hire, Malouf was paid $7,000 less annually than Jeff Jones, the then-Head Coach for the men's basketball team. This disparity was initially justified by Jones's more significant head coaching experience. However, when Brian Driscoll replaced Jones in 2000 with no head coaching experience but at a higher salary than Malouf’s, it became clear that gender-based pay discrimination was at play.
In subsequent years, despite numerous successful seasons leading the women's basketball team and repeated requests for equal compensation, Malouf continued to earn significantly less than her male counterpart. For instance, in 2016 Driscoll received a $16,000 performance bonus while Malouf did not receive any such bonus despite similar or superior performance metrics. By 2019, Driscoll's annual earnings exceeded Malouf's by approximately $21,553.
The situation slightly improved in August 2020 when Kutztown University agreed to a modest increase in Malouf’s salary; however, she still earned about $13,379 less per year than Driscoll post-increase. In 2021 and 2022, this gap persisted with Malouf earning $13,713 and $14,078 less respectively compared to Driscoll despite achieving higher levels of performance.
Malouf further alleges that during an August 2022 meeting with Jennifer Weidman (Human Resources Director), Jesus Pena (Social Equity Director), and Dr. Kenneth Hawkinson (President), she was informed that only performance bonuses would be considered due to a new reward system implemented in 2018. Nevertheless, other male coaches like Jim Clements (Head Football Coach) and his assistants received substantial increases to their base pay around the same time.
In October 2022, Malouf learned she would receive a $4,000 performance bonus added to her base compensation along with an additional $2,858 increase. Despite these adjustments through early 2023 she continued to earn approximately $6,686 less annually than Driscoll.
Malouf contends there is no legitimate business reason for this persistent pay disparity which she attributes solely to gender discrimination. She is seeking compensatory damages including back pay and front pay as well as liquidated damages under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its amendments; the Equal Pay Act of 1963; and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.
Representing Janet Malouf is Sidney L. Gold from The Gold Law Firm P.C., while Kutztown University will need to respond through its legal representation once proceedings commence under Case ID: 5:24-cv-02435-JLS before Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl.