Patti Adair: Pay Equity

March 2025: Oregon Public Broadcasting Headline: “Deschutes County Pays $150,000 Settlement Over Alleged Gender Discrimination.” [Oregon Public Broadcasting, 3/20/25]

• March 2025: Deschutes County Settled A Pay Inequity And Gender Discrimination Claim By Deputy District Attorney Alison Filo For $150,000. “Deschutes County settled a pay inequity and gender discrimination claim for $150,000 this month, according to records obtained by OPB. Deputy district attorney Alison Filo first reached out to the county’s human resources department about issues she was seeing two years ago. She discovered the pay difference between her and her colleagues after District Attorney Steven Gunnels, who Filo praised, wanted to promote employee retention by examining how attorneys in the office were paid. ‘I really believed that when I emailed (HR) in April of 2023, the response I was going to get was, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re so sorry. Let’s get this fixed!’ Instead, Filo said, what happened was the most frustrating experience of her professional career as a prosecutor, which spans 25 years in California and then Deschutes County. Filo said Deschutes County promised a memo justifying the pay discrepancy, but she never received it. She set monthly alarms to email the HR department, seeking an answer, she said. It wasn’t until she hired outside legal representation, she said, that the county became responsive.” [Oregon Public Broadcasting, 3/20/25]

Adair Voted To Eliminate The County’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion And Access Committee, Which Had Been Tasked With Addressing Pay Equity Issues For County Workers. “Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang brought up Filo’s settlement Wednesday as the board discussed the recent dissolution of the county’s diversity, equity, inclusion and access committee. Chang said that group was needed to address personnel issues inside the county like Filo had faced. Committee members had been slated to take up pay equity following a March 2024 audit that found pay disparity for workers of different genders and races. The county board’s conservative majority voted to terminate the committee before that could happen. Commissioners Tony DeBone and Patti Adair have said staff retention and pay equity are issues that would live with the human resources department.” [Oregon Public Broadcasting, 3/20/25]

• Oregon Public Broadcasting: Committee Members Had Been Slated To Take Up Pay Equity Following A March 2024 Audit That Found Pay Disparity For Workers Of Different Genders And Races. “Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang brought up Filo’s settlement Wednesday as the board discussed the recent dissolution of the county’s diversity, equity, inclusion and access committee. Chang said that group was needed to address personnel issues inside the county like Filo had faced. Committee members had been slated to take up pay equity following a March 2024 audit that found pay disparity for workers of different genders and races. The county board’s conservative majority voted to terminate the committee before that could happen. Commissioners Tony DeBone and Patti Adair have said staff retention and pay equity are issues that would live with the human resources department.” [Oregon Public Broadcasting, 3/20/25]