Sunday, May 19, 2002
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Sunday, May 19, 2002 |
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Responding to pay suit, PTC development authority claims jobs different for directors of tennis center, amphitheater By JOHN
MUNFORD
The Development Authority of Peachtree City claims it hasn't violated the equal pay act or any other law, according to documents filed for the authority in federal court responding to a lawsuit filed by former amphitheater director Kristi Rapson. In the suit, Rapson claims the Development Authority of Peachtree City unfairly compensated her compared to Virgil Christian, who was the director of the Peachtree City Tennis Center. But the authority's answer to the suit says that the two positions are not equal in terms of responsibility, effort and skill required to perform the jobs. Rapson's duties as amphitheater director were not of "equal skill, equal effort and equal responsibility and were not performed under similar working conditions as the director of the tennis center," the authority states in an answer to the suit. The authority is responsible for operating the tennis center and amphitheater, although the structures themselves are owned by the city, which is a separate entity. Rapson resigned in November citing philosophical differences with the authority. She had served as the director of the amphitheater since June 1995, and in the suit she is seeking back pay and compensation for lost benefits due to the alleged inequality in pay. Christian, who has since been promoted to executive director of the authority, gave tennis lessons, managed 30 employees and presided over the construction of buildings there, the authority claims. His compensation was also recommended by an executive recruiter that found him in a nationwide search for the tennis center's director, according to the authority. During her tenure with the authority, Rapson's compensation increased 200 percent, according to the authority. One of the increases equaled a 100 percent raise after a pay study of amphitheater directors was commissioned "despite the fact that the study would have supported a smaller increase," the authority claims. In the suit, Rapson's attorneys claim that in the third quarter of 1999, Christian's compensation was "in excess of $41,000" which was "in the range" of Rapson's yearly salary as director of the amphitheater.
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