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. 


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