A Northern Michigan University sign is pictured. A lawsuit filed Feb. 8 against NMU by four female professors alleges NMU violated federal equal pay and gender discrimination laws. Brian J. Farrar, an attorney representing the four NMU College of Business professors in their lawsuit alleging gender discrimination by the university, has responded to a recent opinion piece written by NMU President Fritz Erickson. (Journal file photo)

MARQUETTE — Opinions continue to differ regarding a Northern Michigan University discrimination case.

Brian J. Farrar, an attorney representing the four NMU College of Business professors in their lawsuit alleging gender discrimination by the university, has responded to a recent opinion piece written by NMU President Fritz Erickson.

A lawsuit filed Feb. 8 against NMU by four female professors alleges NMU violated federal equal pay and gender discrimination laws.

In the lawsuit — filed with the U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, Northern Division — the instructors, Claudia Hart, Carol Steinhaus, Karin Stulz and Margaret Vroman, claim the NMU College of Business significantly underpays its female faculty compared with their male colleagues and denies them equal opportunities for tenure and other benefits.

The professors are represented by the law firm Sterling Attorneys at Law P.C., based in downstate Bloomfield Hills.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs in September 2016 filed separate charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging NMU discriminated against them on the basis of their gender by paying them less than their male counterparts.

Following an investigation into the allegations, the EEOC determined NMU discriminated against the plaintiffs in violation of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Around Aug. 24, the EEOC notified the plaintiffs and NMU of its determination and gave the school an opportunity to remedy the alleged discriminatory practices through the EEOC conciliation process.

Derek Hall, NMU chief marketing officer, released a statement in February concerning the case, noting the university doesn’t comment on details of pending litigation or personnel matters.

However, The Mining Journal on Feb. 24 printed an op-ed penned by Erickson regarding this lawsuit.

“Most concerning to me was incorrect information that the Department of Justice and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found Northern to be in violation of pay discrimination,” Erickson wrote. “The EEOC has not found Northern in violation of any pay discrimination now or in the past. To date, the EEOC’s involvement was participation in a conciliation meeting to resolve these complaints. Unfortunately, this was not possible. There has been no formal ruling by the EEOC on this case.”

Erickson pointed out that NMU’s faculty salaries are determined by academic rank, years of service, degrees and teaching areas, and are based upon negotiated formulas with the faculty unions, the American Association of University Professors and the NMU Faculty Association.

In the op-ed, NMU took the position that the EEOC’s involvement was limited to a conciliation process, said Farrar, an attorney with Sterling Attorneys at Law.

Farrar mentioned determination letters his clients received from the EEOC. “The EEOC conducted a thorough investigation over many months and found ‘reasonable cause’ to believe NMU violated federal laws,” Farrar said in an email. “The government does not issue these notices lightly. NMU’s administrators can spin this anyway they want but the facts speak for themselves.”

Farrar said the EEOC issued its report in August.

“We attempted conciliation in October 2018 and NMU’s attorney walked out in the middle,” he said. “In the four months that followed, the professors heard nothing but silence from NMU so they had no choice but to file their lawsuit in February 2019. NMU is free to argue however it likes that it has a reason to pay the female professors less than the males, and we are not going to debate this in the media. My clients look forward to their day in court when the full facts can come out.”

NMU counsel has declined to issue a response to Farrar’s comments.

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250.