OFCCP Director Notes Accomplishments in Labor Day Message to Field Staff

Email reportedly sent to OFCCP Staff

Friday, September 2, 2011

Dear Colleagues,

Before you head out for the long weekend, I want to thank you for all your great work over this very busy summer!
Since Memorial Day, we restored the FAAP, closed several major cases (AstraZeneca, ThyssenKrupp, and Alcoa) and went after the big cheese. We took a major step forward on our proposed rule to strengthen VEVRAA and asked for input on a game-changing data tool to strengthen our hand in fighting pay discrimination. We said hello to a team of incredible summer interns and bid a fond farewell to several cherished members of the OFCCP family. We hosted a productive gathering of all managers and engaged in an important dialogue at the Industry Liaison Group’s national convention. And at a time when all of us in government are tightening our belts to cut costs, OFCCP is about to save taxpayers $39 million by updating our electronic case management system. Not bad for the dog days of summer!
I’m so proud of what we have accomplished together and I take every opportunity to tell the Secretary and our stakeholders about my fantastic team of nearly 800 men and women who are on the front lines of protecting workers, promoting diversity and enforcing the law. Earlier today, I spoke at the DOL Civil Rights Center ’s 20th Annual Training and Symposium. I referenced the great Dr. Dorothy Height in reminding the audience that laws without enforcement are just words on a piece of paper. We are the people who bring those words to life. We are the ones who give them meaning and power.
This week, I’m pleased to announce two new additions to our senior leadership team. I hope you will join me in welcoming Cynthia Spishak and Harry Council to the Division of Management and Administrative Programs. Cynthia is DMAP’s new Deputy Director and Harry serves as our Branch Chief for Information Technology. You can read more about them below.
Finally, I want to share with you a Labor Day message from Secretary Solis on the “State of the American Worker.” This weekend, whether you are lying on a beach, standing over a barbeque grill, spending time with family or taking advantage of a good sale, I hope you will pause to remember what Labor Day is all about. I hope you will think of the workers we serve and the ethic of hard work and fair play that has made our nation the lamplight of the world.
Here at DOL, every day is Labor Day. For all of the work you do – on behalf of the workers – I thank you. Have a great weekend!
Pat

OFCCP Proposes Groundbreaking Data Tool to Curb Pay Discrimination

U.S. Department of Labor
For Immediate Release

Office of Public Affairs
August 2, 2011

Washington , D.C.
Release Number: 11-1208-NAT

Contact: Jason Surbey
-- or --
Laura K. McGinnis

Phone:(202) 693- 4668
202) 6934653



US Labor Department considers development

of data tool to combat pay discrimination

Public invited to comment during early stage of development



WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is considering the development of a new data tool to collect information on salaries, wages and other benefits paid to employees of federal contractors and subcontractors. The tool would improve OFCCP’s ability to gather data that could be analyzed for indicators of discrimination, such as disparities faced by female and minority workers. To provide an opportunity for the public to submit feedback, the department published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking in the Aug. 10 edition of the Federal Register.



OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246, which prohibits companies that do business with the federal government from discriminating in employment practices – including compensation – on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin or religion. Last year, the agency announced plans to create a compensation data tool in the department’s fall 2010 regulatory agenda. In addition to providing OFCCP investigators with insight into potential pay discrimination warranting further review, the proposed tool would provide a self-assessment element to help employers evaluate the effects of their compensation practices.



“Today, almost 50 years after the Equal Pay Act became law, the wage gap has narrowed, but not nearly enough,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “The president and I are committed to ending pay discrimination once and for all.”



The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2010 women were paid an average of 77 cents for every dollar paid to men. In addition to the gender gap, research has shown that race- and ethnicity-based pay gaps put workers of color, including men, at a disadvantage. Eliminating compensation-based discrimination is a top priority for OFCCP.



“Pay discrimination continues to plague women and people of color in the workforce,” said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu, a member of the president’s National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force. “This proposal is about gathering better data, which will allow us to focus our enforcement resources where they are most needed. We can’t truly solve this problem until we can see it, measure it and put dollar figures on it.”



The notice poses 15 questions for public response on the types of data that should be requested, the scope of information OFCCP should seek, how the data should be collected, how the data should be used, what the tool should look like, which contractors should be required to submit compensation data and how the tool might create potential burdens for small businesses. The proposal will be open to public response for 60 days, and the deadline for receiving comments is Oct. 11. To read the proposal or submit a comment, visit the federal e-rulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov.



In addition to Executive Order 11246, OFCCP’s legal authority exists under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. As amended, these three laws hold those who do business with the federal government, both contractors and subcontractors, to the fair and reasonable standard that they not discriminate in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. For general information, call OFCCP’s toll-free helpline at 800-397-6251. Additional information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/ofccp.

To view the ANPRM, go to: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=OFCCP-2011-0005-0001

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http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ofccp/OFCCP20111208.htm