Wyatt v. Steidel

Filing 32

OPINION. Signed by District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. on 03/03/2015. Copy mailed to Plaintiff. (walk, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Richmond Division

PERCY L. WYATT,

Plaintiff,
V.

Civil Action No. 3:14-cv-64-JAG

ROBERT STEIDEL,
Defendant.
OPINION

This matter comes before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment. Percy

Wyatt claims that Robert Steidel, as Director of the City of Richmond Department of Public
Utilities, violated the Equal Pay Act ("EPA") by paying Wyatt a lower salary than he paid a
comparable female employee. Wyatt's choice of a comparator employee, however, does not
satisfy the statutory requirements of equal skill and responsibility. Because the plaintiff failed to
meet this necessary element of a primafacie case under the EPA, the Court GRANTS Steidel's

motion for summary judgment and DENIES Wyatt's motion for summary judgment.

I. STATEMENT OF FACTS'
Wyatt began working for the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities in 2006 as
a Trades Supervisor II in the Wastewater Division. He worked his way up through several

promotions to the position of Wastewater Collections Program Manager in May 2013. This

^Summary judgment becomes appropriate when the movant establishes that no genuine dispute
of any material fact exists and the party is thereby entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.
R. Civ. P. 56(a); jee Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, All U.S. 317, 322, 106 S. Ct 2548 (1986). The
Court resolves all genuine factual disputes and inferences in favor of the non-moving party.

United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S. Ct. 993 (1962) (per curiam). Once the
movant satisfies its showing for summary judgment, the burden shiftsto the non-moving party to
establish a genuine issue of material fact. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp.,
475 U.S. 574, 586-88,106 S. Ct. 1348 (1986).