A Pennsylvania jury has awarded two female Central Bucks School District teachers $165,000 in damages, finding that the district unfairly paid them less than their male counterparts.
According to Law360, Dawn Marinello and Rebecca Cartee-Haring, whose husband, Rick Haring, is an elected member of the school board, were awarded $84,000 and $81,000, respectively, following a 4-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The teachers’ case ended in a mistrial last July, when a different jury could not come to an agreement on whether or not the district had violated the Equal Pay Act. Central Bucks was faced the possibility of paying out a maximum $119 million, especially if it violated the Equal Pay Act, per Bucks County Courier Times.
Cartee-Haring and Marinello were represented by Edward S. Mazurek of the Mazurek Law Firm LLC. The school district was represented by Michael I. Levin, David W. Brown and Anthony Petro of Levin Legal Group PC.
Central Bucks was faced the possibility of paying out a maximum $119 million, especially if it violated the Equal Pay Act, per Bucks County Courier Times,
Back in 2021, teacher and plaintiff Marinello gathered 368 current and former female teachers that worked at Central Bucks School District over the past 23 years, and collectively filed a $119 million civil lawsuit against the district, claiming they were owed more than $48 million in back pay due to the district historically paying the male teachers higher salaries.
The lawsuit, among other things, alleged male teachers were given credit for past experiences, but women were not.
However, Central Bucks persisted on. At the time of Marinello’s filing, the district was amid another civil lawsuit from English teacher Cartee-Haring, also claiming Equal Pay Act violations by the district, filed in 2020.
Back in May 2024, a federal judge pushed the district to settle the Marinello lawsuit before the case heads to jury trial, as there was substantial likelihood the teachers would win, per the report.
However, on July 29, 2024, the trial would end in a hung jury, per court records. Post-trial, a juror revealed the jury was split 6-2 in the women’s favor, per The Inquirer.
According to law, the case was tried again in the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, as no verdict was issued by a jury.
According to the Herald, the court “decertified” the teachers’ class action case, which was then challenged and lost.
“It’s disappointing. I’m not necessarily disappointed in the jury — there were a lot of very complicated details,” said Cartee-Haring in the Inquirer earlier this summer. “They have a decades-long problem here, and it’s not going away.”
Central Bucks School District released the following statement Thursday:
As we shared in several messages last summer, the district has been involved in an employment discrimination lawsuit since 2021 that continues to evolve. Earlier this month, the case proceeded with two named plaintiffs to a new federal jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Today, the jury delivered a compromise verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding a reduced amount compared to the plaintiffs' claims.
While the district is encouraged that the jury found no evidence of willful misconduct, the evidence the district presented does not support any award to the plaintiffs, and the district plans to appeal the decision. We maintain that employee compensation was set lawfully and fairly, based on legitimate, non-discriminatory factors, and are committed to ensuring all employees are treated equitably and in accordance with the law.
Lawsuits of this nature proceed in stages. Prior to this most recent decision, in late July, a different jury was unable to reach consensus on a verdict, resulting in a hung jury. Shortly thereafter, the court decertified the class action suit. The current decision marks another phase in this process, and the appeal will be yet another stage.
In earlier messages on this subject, the district committed to refining and enhancing hiring practices. In January 2025, district administration put into effect updated guidelines for determining the initial salary of professional staff covered by the collective bargaining agreement and shared these guidelines with all CBSD administrators. These guidelines were also posted on our “Making Practices Public” webpage and will be further formalized through an administrative regulation. The district will continue to examine ways to improve processes and systems.
Thank you for your ongoing support of CBSD.
