The U.S. Justice Department and the city of Tampa have resolved a lawsuit filed by the department that accused the city of discrimination against scores of male employees who were denied the level of parental leave provided to women employees. 

The consent decree settling the dispute was filed in the Middle District of Florida on Dec. 21. The city of Tampa was alleged to be carrying out a parental leave policy in 2017 and 2018 that discriminated against male employees seeking eight weeks off to provide primary care to newborns. Those workers sought 320 hours of parental leave but ultimately were considered secondary caregivers and given only 80 hours of leave, according to the Justice Department’s complaint.

This policy affected 150 male employees who worked for the city of Tampa, the complaint states. Such discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which covers employers’ pregnancy policies, according to the Justice Department.