January 13th, 2022 by WCBC Radio

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing a Maryland agency alleging it discriminated against a male employee by paying him less than female colleagues because of his gender.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, claims that the Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration paid Robert Rager thousands of dollars less than women performing the same job, The Daily Record reported. The lawsuit claims the agency violated the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits pay discrimination based on sex.

The suit seeks back pay for Rager, who began working as a district community liaison in 2007 as a contract employee and became a state employee in 2014. When Rager was transferred to another district the next year, a woman hired to perform his previous job was paid about $11,000 more than he was, the complaint claims.

Two other women who later held that same position were paid substantially more than Rager, according to the complaint. One was paid $23,000 more than Rager, though he had more experience, the suit claims.

The agency also paid more to women with less experience who were working in other districts, according to the complaint.

An SHA spokesperson declined to comment because the case is pending.