BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Park School of Baltimore, a private school in Pikesville, Md., will pay $41,000 to settle a federal sex discrimination suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

According to the suit, the Park School hired a man as head softball coach in spring 2014 and renewed his employment contract as head softball coach in 2015 and 2016.

The EEOC charged that despite his satisfactory job performance in 2017, the Park School told the coach that it would not renew his contract for the 2017 softball season because of its “preference for female leadership,”.

The EEOC states that this conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

The EEOC filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division, after first trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process, it said in a release Tuesday.

In addition to the monetary damages to the coach, the two-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit provides “significant equitable relief, including prohibiting the Park School from engaging in gender discrimination in the future,”.

The Park School will implement a policy prohibiting gender discrimination and retaliation, and provide training on federal anti-discrimination laws and the company’s policies.

They must also post a notice about the settlement and employee rights under Title VII and report any future complaints of gender discrimination to the EEOC.

“Title VII protects both men and women from unequal treatment based on gender,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence. “We are pleased the Park School worked with us to resolve this quickly, fairly and without incurring unnecessary litigation expenses.”

The Park School released a letter from the Head of the school to the community:

Dear Park Community,

As you may know, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit against The Park School this past summer alleging gender discrimination in one of our employment decisions. The suit resulted from a male coach of our Girls’ Varsity Softball team claiming the school had discriminated against him based on his gender when he was not renewed as head coach for our girls’ 2017 season.

While we steadfastly deny the allegation in the complaint and maintain that the school did not violate Title VII, in order to resolve the action without the time and expense of further litigation, Park has agreed to settle the case. As stated in the court record, The Park School fully supports Title VII and equal opportunities for all people. The school does not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic ori-gin, religion, ancestry, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or any physical or mental disability. We continue to actively search for, hire, and support inspired and inspiring teachers and coaches to work with our Pre-K through Grade 12 gender-inclusive community, and to fulfill The Park School Mission and Objectives.

We are glad that the case is now resolved. If you have any questions about Park’s employment practices, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Sincerely,

Dan Paradis

The letter denies the allegation, but says the school agreed to settle the case.

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