EEOC v. Morgan Stanley
Active Case
Wilmuth et al v. Amazon
The lawsuit was the first-ever class action to assert equal pay claims against Amazon, which employs over 1.5 million people globally and consistently ranks among the world’s largest companies by revenue.
The three plaintiffs, Caroline Wilmuth, Katherine Schomer and Erin Combs, all worked in Amazon’s corporate research and strategy division. They alleged Amazon systemically assigned women lower job codes and paid them less than men within the same job levels. These uniform policies and practices have harmed women’s long-term income and career advancement, the lawsuit alleged.
When the plaintiffs tried to raise pay equity issues with their managers and HR, Amazon did not try to fix the problem, they said. Instead, the company retaliated against them in numerous ways, according to the lawsuit: they were demoted, taken off key projects, stripped of responsibilities and team support, downgraded in their performance ratings, and had their stock and compensation cut.
After filing the complaint, the women accused the company of retaliating against them even further. Wilmuth said Amazon demoted her and stripped her of her 14-member team before ultimately laying her off. Schomer and Combs both resigned after Amazon unfairly downgraded their performance reviews and made it clear that it did not want them to continue at the company, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accused Amazon of violating the federal Equal Pay Act and Title VII, as well as federal and state antidiscrimination and anti-retaliation laws.
Amazon unsuccessfully tried to evade the lawsuit by filing a motion to dismiss, which was denied by a federal judge in Washington on December 12, 2024.
Framing the Issue
- The gender pay gap has narrowed in recent decades, but progress is moving at a glacial pace. In 2024, women earned 85 cents for every dollar men earned, according to the Pew Research Center. In 2003, women earned 81 cents on the dollar compared to men.
- The gender wage gap is even wider for most women of color. In 2024, Black women earned just 66 cents on the dollar compared to white men, according to Equal Pay Today. For Latina workers, that number was 58 cents.
- Many factors contribute to the gender wage gap, such as occupational segregation, lack of pay transparency, pressure to take on caregiving responsibilities, and historical differences in higher education rates. Gender discrimination also plays a role, as both overt and subconscious biases can lead to pay and promotion decisions that favor men.
- For Black workers, the racial pay gap begins as young as 16. That disparity has lifelong consequences as it sets individuals on an earnings track that lasts for decades.
