Friday's lawsuit alleges Kristie Metcalfe, the only Black attorney at the Mississippi State Senate, was paid about half the salary of her colleagues.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a lawsuit Friday against the Mississippi state Senate for discriminating against a former Black staffer. The woman, a former staff attorney in the state’s Legislative Services Office,

A Black attorney who formerly worked on the staff of the Republican-controlled Mississippi State Senate was the target of illegal racial discrimination, the Department of Justice alleged Friday.

The Mississippi State Senate paid a Black staff attorney $40,000 to $60,000 less per year than her White colleagues were paid.

The Mississippi Senate discriminated against a Black attorney by paying her about half of what her white colleagues were paid for doing the same job, the U.S. Justice Department says in a lawsuit it filed Friday.

The discrimination lawsuit said Kristie Metcalfe was paid "significantly less" than her white co-workers for 8 years.

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the Mississippi Senate for racial discrimination of a former Black attorney.