MHR 6401
Riser v. QEP Energy
Columbia Southern University
MHR 6401, Employment Law
Riser v. QEP Energy
Ms. Kathy Riser worked for the company Questar Exploration and Production (Questar).
She began her employment in 1997 and held the position of Administration Services
Representative II. On July 1, 2010 QEP was spun off from Questar and became its own
independent company (Walsh, 2019). Ms. Riser remained with the company and continued her
duties. On September 8, 2011, Ms. Riser was terminated from the company. From the date of
the spun off until her termination, Ms. Riser had submitted numerous requests for pay raises due
to the increase of her duties. Her requests were denied and after her termination, she filed a
lawsuit against QEP in violation of the Equal Pay Act.
Legal Issues Presented in This Case
One of the legal issues presented in this case is the Equal Pay/Compensation
discrimination. When the QEP spun off occurred Ms. Riser received $22.11 per hour, in March
2011 she received a pay increase to $22.78, or $47,382 annualized (Walsh, 2019). QEP
developed a pay classification system which consisted of 15 different grades, and Ms. Riser was
classified as a 5 (Walsh, 2019). In addition, to the responsibilities Ms. Riser performed as
Administration Services Representative she also performed additional duties that are not
common under her position. Ms. Riser asked her supervisor for a change in title and salary
which was never answered. Due to a large amount of overtime hours, a new position was created
by QEP. Ms. Riser provide her supervisor a description of her responsibilities which was then
used as the job description for the opening. QEP then categorized this position as a Grade 7,
with an annual salary of $62,000 (Walsh, 2019). In June 2011, QEP hired a male for this
position with the advertised salary. After Ms. Riser’s termination from the company QEP hired
Riser v. QEP Energy
Columbia Southern University
MHR 6401, Employment Law
Riser v. QEP Energy
Ms. Kathy Riser worked for the company Questar Exploration and Production (Questar).
She began her employment in 1997 and held the position of Administration Services
Representative II. On July 1, 2010 QEP was spun off from Questar and became its own
independent company (Walsh, 2019). Ms. Riser remained with the company and continued her
duties. On September 8, 2011, Ms. Riser was terminated from the company. From the date of
the spun off until her termination, Ms. Riser had submitted numerous requests for pay raises due
to the increase of her duties. Her requests were denied and after her termination, she filed a
lawsuit against QEP in violation of the Equal Pay Act.
Legal Issues Presented in This Case
One of the legal issues presented in this case is the Equal Pay/Compensation
discrimination. When the QEP spun off occurred Ms. Riser received $22.11 per hour, in March
2011 she received a pay increase to $22.78, or $47,382 annualized (Walsh, 2019). QEP
developed a pay classification system which consisted of 15 different grades, and Ms. Riser was
classified as a 5 (Walsh, 2019). In addition, to the responsibilities Ms. Riser performed as
Administration Services Representative she also performed additional duties that are not
common under her position. Ms. Riser asked her supervisor for a change in title and salary
which was never answered. Due to a large amount of overtime hours, a new position was created
by QEP. Ms. Riser provide her supervisor a description of her responsibilities which was then
used as the job description for the opening. QEP then categorized this position as a Grade 7,
with an annual salary of $62,000 (Walsh, 2019). In June 2011, QEP hired a male for this
position with the advertised salary. After Ms. Riser’s termination from the company QEP hired
