Pennsylvania County Settles Public Defender Wage Bias Claims

A Pennsylvania county has settled claims that its public defender’s office paid male assistant defenders more than women in the same positions.

Delaware County and female lawyers in its Public Defender’s Office “have reached a settlement in principle, and counsel are working to memorialize the settlement terms,” wrote lawyers for the plaintiffs on Tuesday to the judges handling the proposed class action for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

• Female attorneys in the office were “consistently paid less money than their male counterparts” also employed by the public defender, for “substantially equal work,” according to the ...