ST. LOUIS (KMTV) - Heritage Bank in Wood River was sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for paying men and women unequally.
According to the EEOC, Christine Schwieger, a relationship manager, was paid 33 percent less than a man who was hired for the same position in 2014.
Schwieger quit in December of 2015 and was still being paid less than the man, even after she sent a complaint to Heritage Bank.
The alleged conduct violates the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits men and women from being paid unequally for doing a job with the same required skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions.
“The law requiring equal pay for men and women is the oldest law the EEOC enforces,” said James R. Neely, Jr., director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office. “It is unconscionable that women are still paid less than men for equal work in the 21st century.”
The St. Louis District of the EEOC oversees Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and parts of Southern Illinois.