4 women sue Canyon County, say they were paid less than men

Four women are suing Canyon County because they say they were paid lower wages than their male colleague, even though they all had equal or superior experience and performed the same tasks.

Linda Ellis, Tracy Johnson, Rene Whitneck and Toni Kreiter filed the civil rights lawsuit Monday in Idaho’s U.S. District Court, contending they were each paid less than $25 an hour for their work as nurses at the Canyon County Jail, while the only male nurse at the jail was paid more than $31 an hour. They also said they were required to wear scrubs while the male nurse was allowed to wear tactical gear, and that the disparities were not the result of a seniority or merit system.

Both state law and federal law make it illegal to pay an employee less for comparable work because of their sex.

Canyon County spokesman Joe Decker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.