Court rejects former library worker’s lawsuit
A federal lawsuit brought against the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Library System by a former employee has been dismissed.
On March 24, the United States District Court found there was no merit in the case, and it and ruled in favor of the library system’s Motion for Summary Judgment, according to a news release from the library system.
Gwendolyn Shelton sued the library system alleging racial discrimination and a violation of the Equal Pay Act.
Shelton was a former library system employee who voluntarily resigned after being given benefits and a pay raise during her nine-month tenure as a part-time manager of the library system’s Altheimer branch, according to the release.
“The Court’s dismissal order held that “[t]here’s no conceivable Equal Pay Act violation” that took place with Ms. Shelton. As to her racial discrimination claim, the Court concluded that “[n]o rational juror could conclude that Ms. Shelton can make out a prima facie case,’” according to the release.
Library Director Bobbie Morgan stated, “It is gratifying to the library to know the case was dis
missed.”
According to court and other documents obtained by the Pine Bluff Commercial, Shelton, a former branch manager at the Altheimer Library branch, filed a lawsuit in federal district court on Aug. 8, 2019, amending it a few weeks later to provide more details.
Shelton contends that the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Library System discriminated against her by paying her less than other branch managers and failed to give her holiday pay and other benefits because she is Black.
Shelton further asserts that when she inquired about why she was not getting the same pay and benefits as the other branch managers, she was given various reasons by Morgan, with Morgan saying either “the board has not approved it yet,” “the board is still working on it,” or “you are supposed to be getting holiday pay.”