The Mississippi Senate discriminated against a Black attorney by paying her about half of what her white colleagues were paid for the same job.

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.

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,