Central Bucks teacher in equal pay suit: District misled public to smear husband in race

A Central Bucks teacher suing the district over alleged pay inequities among female teachers, retaliation and discrimination contends the school board intentionally misled the public in a presentation by attaching her name to a recent $119 million settlement demand.

Rebecca Cartee-Haring and her attorney said Friday, Sept. 15, that the district knew the offer was for a separate lawsuit involving another teacher plaintiff and, so far, 360 female teachers who are members of the collective action filed in the U.S. Eastern District Court in Philadelphia.

Cartee-Haring and her attorney said she is not part of the larger Equal Pay Act lawsuit and she has not made a settlement demand in her case.

In an email to district officials, Cartee-Haring accused the school board of including her name in the legal update in an effort to smear her husband, Rick Haring, one of five Democrats running to fill five school board seats in the upcoming general election in the bitterly divided district.

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“While I am sure using my name was a tactic motivated by politics and spite, it is absolutely misleading on your part to claim I made or my attorney made any demand on my behalf in that letter and perhaps further evidence of retaliation,” Cartee-Haring wrote in an email to district officials.

In his Sept. 12 school board presentation, attorney Michael Levin, the lead  attorney representing the district in the Equal Pay Act cases, said he was updating the board on the financial implications of the cases after receiving a Sept. 1 settlement demand letter.

In an email response to questions, the attorney representing the school district said that he disagrees that the plaintiffs' Sept. 1 settlement demand letter does not include Cartee-Haring. He pointed to a court order that the two cases were consolidated “for all purposes except trial.”

But Edward Mazurek, the attorney representing Cartee-Haring and the other plaintiffs, countered that the district knows the cases are separate and the court consolidated them for “administrative purposes” — such as discovery, depositions and pretrial motions — because of the similar alleged violations of the law.

Cartee-Haring has made additional claims in her lawsuit that are not part of the one filed by CBSD teacher Dawn Marinello. The Marinello case also includes other collective action members, Mazurek added.

“The facts remain that you and the district did misstate the nature and purpose of the settlement proposal at the board meeting, and you did wrongly convey that Cartee-Haring is part of the Marinello lawsuit,” Mazurek wrote in an email to the district’s lawyer.  “I hope that the district will publicly correct its mistakes, with or without an apology to Mrs. Cartee-Haring.”

The district has not issued a correction or apology, according to Cartee-Haring.  She has requested the school board give Mazurek the opportunity to present a legal update at the October meeting.

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What the Equal Pay Act lawsuits allege

Both lawsuits contend that the district routinely hired male teachers at higher pay grades than those set by district policy between 2000 and this year, a violation of the Equal Pay Act.

The lawsuit also contends that male teachers frequently were given credit for past teaching experience while female teachers were not. The plaintiffs are not only seeking back pay, but want the court to require the district to increase the pay for all current female teachers in the district.

The number of potential teacher members could go higher, as well.  The federal judge overseeing the case extended to October the opportunity for female teachers to opt into the lawsuit. He also dismissed a district motion to decertify the collective action.

The federal court is looking at scheduling separate trials on the cases in March 2024, Mazurek added. Cartee-Haring and Marinello filed their lawsuits in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

District taxpayers would be 100% responsible because any award or settlement would not be covered under the district’s liability insurance, district Chief Executive Officer Tara Houser said. Insurance is covering the cost of the district’s legal defense

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Central Bucks School District says settlement translates to average $3,500 tax increase

In his legal opinion, Levin said that settlement is not advised and there is no evidence of unlawful discrimination by the district.

Levin said the settlement offer was for $119 million and an increase in salary step placements for all currently employed female teachers who opted into the case so they can receive credit for their prior teaching experience.

The breakdown would be $94.4 million in lost wages to current and former teachers  and $25 million in attorney fees, Levin said.

He warned that the settlement would result in a potential 66 mill tax increase, or $3,500 for the average homeowner, and it would not include the cost for annual pay increase as a result of the change in step placement.  Levin added the potential tax increase would be reduced, but it would mean cutting services.

Levin added that he would not put much weight on comments previously made by the federal judge overseeing the cases urging the district to settle.

The settlement remarks were taken out of context and made before the other collective action members joined the Marinello lawsuit, Levin said. He added that the court typically urges parties to settle.

“I can’t think of one (case) where the judge didn’t bring up settlement,”  Levin said.

But Mazurek pointed out that Levin also did not mention the district’s potential liability, if the plaintiffs’ cases prevail at trial, would far exceed the initial $119 million settlement demand.

Under the Equal Pay Act, if a violation occurs the court is required to award liquid damages, which would amount to double the final back pay award, which Mazurek said would exceed $200 million.

“There is no exception for a school district or public government entity,” he added.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Teacher: Central Bucks misled public about equal pay settlement offer