FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CR FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 1995 (202) 616-2765 TDD (202) 514-1888 NORTH CAROLINA AGREES TO PUT A HALT TO EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION AGINST WOMEN IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice today reached an agreement with the state of North Carolina to prevent employment discrimination against women in the state's Department of Corrections. Today's agreement stems from a complaint filed by the Justice Department in December 1993 charging the state with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It alleged that the North Carolina Department of Corrections pursued policies that discriminated against women in hiring, assignment and promotion. The complaint also charged that the state failed to take action to remedy the alleged discrimination. Deval L. Patrick, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, noted that the Justice Department has filed and settled similar sex discrimination lawsuits against state corrections departments in Indiana, Massachusetts, Florida, Delaware, and New Jersey, as well as the city of Philadelphia Prisons. "A woman's opportunity to work should not be limited because of her gender," he added. North Carolina has the eighth largest corrections system in the country. In 1991, when the Justice Department began investigating the state system, only eight percent of North Carolina's correctional officers were female. Currently, women constitute 20% of the Corrections Department's entry-level hires. Today's agreement will ensure that this progress continues in the future. Under the terms of the settlement the Corrections Department has agreed not to engage in unlawful employment practices, not to limit opportunities for women to work in male housing units or obtain work details off the prison compound, and not to deny women promotions because of their sex. In addition, the Corrections Department will establish: a detailed recruitment program directed toward women; a back-pay fund of $5.5 million to be distributed among women with legitimate claims of employment discrimination; and a priority hire and promotion system for women interested in employment in the corrections field. # # # 95-457