CWA Local 1014 Files Lawsuit Alleging Violations of New Jersey Equal Pay Act Against Camden County

On July 29th CWA Local 1014, representing 1,600 public service employees working for Camden County including over 150 911 operators, filed a lawsuit against Camden County, alleging systemic violations of New Jersey’s Equal Pay Act EPA. The complaint accuses the County of paying female and minority employees less than their male or non‑minority peers who perform the same work.

The lawsuit comes after continued refusal by Camden County to implement a compensation system that satisfies the requirements of the law. Public Safety Telecommunicators (PSTs) in protected classes within Camden County’s 911 emergency services operations, including women, people of color, and military veterans, have consistently been paid lower wages than coworkers in the same title, despite comparable responsibilities, qualifications, and performance evaluations.

“We’ve made every attempt to address this issue, but we’ve gotten no meaningful response from the County,” said Garren Steiner, President of CWA Local 1014. “We’re not asking for anything crazy here—all we’re looking for is what’s right and what’s required by law. We want what’s best for this community, for taxpayers, and for our members who devote their lives to this job. The County offered us a nominal one-time payment to make this lawsuit go away. That’s unacceptable in light of the years of lost wages and emotional toll that this has taken on my members.”

The complaint alleges an estimated $10.5 million in lost wages to date and seeks not only back pay, but to change County pay practices going forward to ensure fair treatment for all employees.

“We’re speaking with people at literally some of the worst moments of their lives,” said Christopher Pritchett-Lewis, a PST and plaintiff in the case. “It takes a toll. This job requires calm and patience and care. We want to make sure that every caller is supported and that our communities get the help they need, but we’re buckling under the pressure of longer and longer shifts all while knowing that we’re being underpaid. It’s too much.”

“The County, they say that they care about us, that they respect us, but their actions say differently,” said Bryan Burns, a PST and CWA Local 1014 Vice President. “It feels like being treated as just a body to fill a seat, like we’re a revolving door, on top of an already very tough job.”

Following more than a year of negotiations between CWA Local 1014 and Camden County during which the Union proposed a number of remedies to this issue in order to avoid taking legal action, the Union is now prepared to proceed through litigation.

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