A Matter of Seniority? A jail cook threatens litigation against the sheriff’s department. by ASHLEY FANTZ Yet another woman is planning to sue Shelby County Sheriff A.C. Gilless. But it’s not because she was receiving too much attention — like the others who have sued the sheriff for sexual harassment. Lisa Ware is suing for not receiving enough attention. The African-American cook in the downtown jail says she is paid less than her white male counterparts because of her race and gender. She makes $12.45 an hour, whereas two white cooks, Jim Olive and William Lenier, make $15.60. Another cook, a black man, makes the same hourly wage as Ware. All have the same job title and the same daily responsibilities. “We were standing around with our pay checks and that’s when I noticed the difference,” she says. “I made an appointment with Sheriff Gilless but never was let in to meet with him.” On her behalf, the Equal Opportunity Commission filed a request for mediation with Gilless. The request was filed October 29th, asking Gilless to respond within 10 days. By November 30th, the sheriff’s department had still not responded. On December 1st, after the sheriff’s office received phone calls from reporters regarding Ware’s complaints, the sheriff’s attorney, G. Hite McLean Jr., sent a letter to EOC stating that the difference in pay among the cooks was due to longevity pay and annual pay increases. Ware and her black male colleague started working as jail cooks in 1992. Lenier and Olive have worked as jail cooks since the mid-1970s. “In a way, I would just like for the sheriff to at least acknowledge that there’s a discrepancy and to try to find some way to even up the pay eventually,” says Ware. She is pursuing the suit on the basis that everyone else in the jail is paid the same hourly wage including all lieutenants, sergeants, and jailers, therefore, she claims, the cooks should also receive equal pay. According to the jail budget and finance department, those positions are protected under equal-pay union contract provisions. Janitorial and cook service positions are not affiliated with the union. Longevity pay isn’t necessarily considered unfair at other businesses where employees are paid according to seniority, says deputy administrator Jim Martin, who oversees payroll concerns. Before Ware became a jail employee in 1992, a system of “merit adjustments” or raises were periodically given to employees. In 1993, the county commission voted against giving random raises in favor of a standard raise but, by that time, many people were receiving varied salaries. “The problem is that if we wanted to close in those wage gaps it would costs millions now,” Martin says. The administrator says that Shelby County is in a “budget crisis,” and evening up wages for non-union members is not a realistic priority. “When we created the pay system in the mid-’70s, there was more money — the jail was smaller and the county didn’t have the economic problems that it has today. If it [pay system] was created again today, I’m sure it would be set up differently. But it wouldn’t be feasible to even up pay by taking money away from people, and we just don’t have the funds to pay anyone else more.” In addition to her claims of unequal pay, Ware says that her complaints about the sheriff have prompted superiors to harass her. Ware says that jail chief Robert Harper threatened to “sting her” should she continue with her action against the sheriff’s department. Ware’s supervisor Harvey Tucker heard Harper. Harper did not return the Flyer’s phone calls for six days. Not long after, Tucker says he was told to promote Lenier and Olive to supervisory positions over Ware, which would have legitimized their higher salary. “I was asked to promote them because of pay scale, but I didn’t want to,” he says. “I just didn’t think they were capable. But I worked with them and they got the job done. Administration just wanted it done that way.” Ware has not officially retained an attorney. But a prominent Memphis civil-rights lawyer, who asked not to be named until he accepts the case, says he thinks she has a good chance of receiving compensation for her pay differential. “That’s all I want,” Ware says. “I just want to know that I’m getting rewarded for the same job, the same work as anyone else.” (You can e-mail Ashley Fantz at ashley@memphisflyer.com.)