Former Top Staff Alleges Sex Discrimination in Pay at Boston University

BOSTON/South End - A former associate dean at the Boston University School of Medicine alleges that the university violated laws against sex discrimination. 

Dr. Phyllis Carr filed the lawsuit in federal court in Boston against the university alleging that the Equal Pay Act was broken when she was paid less than a male colleague for the same work.

The court complaint alleges that Carr “was paid significantly less than a male employee performing substantially equal work.”

It’s alleged that Carr was paid less than Dr. Robert Witzburg, even though they “both worked as Associate Deans for the University’s School of Medicine and performed substantially equal work that required substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility.”

The complaint alleges that Carr discovered in 2004 that the university “was paying her significantly less money than it was paying Dr. Witzburg,” with Carr receiving approximately $160K a year, while Witzburg was hired in 2002 at a salary of around $240K a year; not including a further 3 per cent annual raise.

The complaint also claims that between 2002 and 2012, “studies conducted by the University and by entities outside of the University established that the University often paid female professors and administrators less than their respective male counterparts.”

It is alleged that Carr “brought this pay discrepancy to the attention of Dr. John McCahan, then Acting Dean of the School of Medicine,” who raised her salary by $20K, but said that Carr “would have to speak with the incoming permanent Dean about any further pay raise.”

The complaint alleges that Carr spoke to the new Dean of the School of Medicine Dr. Karen Antman in 2005 about pay discrepancy, but Antman told her, “she would not raise Dr. Carr’s salary any higher and further stated that Dr. Carr was being paid her ‘market value.’”

It is alleged that both Carr and Witzburg “spent the majority of their time performing their respective duties and responsibilities as Associate Deans; in addition, both saw patients regularly in the Department of Medicine at the University.”

It is stated that Carr “also conducted original research under several grants” from a number of foundations and the National Institutes of Health, while it’s claimed that Witzburg “engaged in no original research.”

The complaint further states that Carr received a maximum salary of $224,000 in 2012, while it’s alleged that Witzburg’s compensation was “likely well over” $275,000.

Working at BU from 2001 until June last year, Carr was associate dean of student affairs for the School of Medicine until December 2012.

She was then demoted to assistant dean by Antman, and remained in that position until her employment was terminated in June last year.

Open Media Boston contacted BU for a press statement, but the university declined to comment on pending litigation.

Legal counsel for Carr could not be reached before the filing of this report.