EEOC Announces Proposed Addition of Pay Data to Annual EEO-1 Reports

Pay Ranges and Hours Worked to Be Included, Making It Easier to Spot Trends and Pay Discrimination

WASHINGTON --The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today made public a proposed revision to the Employer Information Report (EEO-1) to include collecting pay data from employers, including federal contractors, with more than 100 employees. This new data will assist the agency in identifying possible pay discrimination and assist employers in promoting equal pay in their workplaces. The revised EEO-1 will be announced today in conjunction with the White House commemoration of the seventh anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Read the story here.

Related content:

• Remarks of EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang at the White House Equal Pay Event, January 29, 2016
• Agency Information Collection Activities: Revision of the Employer Information Report (EEO-1) and Comment Request (Federal Register)
• Pay Data Reporting Proposal Published in Federal Register (Jackson Lewis PC)
• Employers May Soon Be Forced To Reveal Pay Information By Gender (Fisher & Phillips LLP)
• IS YOUR PAY EQUITY UP TO SNUFF? EEOC plans to start collecting pay data, and using it (Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete LLP)
• Future EEO-1s may include employee pay data (Greensfelder Hemker & Gale PC)
• EEOC Proposes Major Change to EEO-1 Reporting: The Addition of Wage and Hours Worked Information (Phelps Dunbar LLP)
• The EEOC Proposes to Require Pay Data on EEO-1s (Venable LLP)
• Executive Action Will Require Companies to Disclose Gender Pay Data (INSIGHT Into Diversity)
• EEOC Proposes Requiring Employers to Report Pay and Hours Worked Information on EEO-1 Forms (Ford & Harrison LLP )
• Reducing the Risks of Pay Discrimination Claims: Employer Pay Equity Audits (Ogletree Deakins)
• EEOC Announces Proposed Changes to EEO-1 Report Requiring Large Employers to Report Pay Data (Ogletree Deakins)
• EEOC Proposes Compensation Report to Accompany EEO-1 Report (Quarles & Brady LLP)
• EEOC proposes to target pay discrimination by collecting employers' salary and hours worked data (Stinson Leonard Street LLP)
• EEOC Proposes Significant Expansion of EEO-1 Reporting Requirements (Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)
• EEOC Proposes Burdensome Annual Collection of Pay Data on EEO-1 Forms (McGuireWoods LLP)
• Proposed EEO-1 Revisions Requiring Production Of Pay Data Published In Federal Register (Proskauer Rose LLP)

Obama Moves to Expand Rules Aimed at Closing Gender Pay Gap

By Julie Hirschfeld Davis, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Friday moved to require companies to report to the federal government what they pay employees by race, gender and ethnicity, part of his push to crack down on firms that pay women less for doing the same work as men.

Read the story here.

Related content:

• Let’s Talk About Pay: New Requirements for Federal Contractors (Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP)
• White House wants companies to submit pay data to close gender gap (USA Today)
• Obama to propose new rule to examine gender pay inequity (The Washington Post)

Hearn-Kirkwood Will Pay $63,500 to Resolve EEOC Pay Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit

Food Service Distributor Unlawfully Disciplined and Later Fired Female Worker Who Complained about Unequal Wages, Federal Agency Charged

BALTIMORE -Gilbert Foods LLC, trading as Hearn-Kirkwood, a food service distributor, will pay $63,500 and furnish significant equitable relief to resolve an EEOC pay discrimination and retaliation lawsuit, the U.S. Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

Read the press release here.

DOL settles systemic hiring and pay discrimination claim with government contractor for close to $2 million

Proskauer Rose LLP, Lexology

On November 19, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) announced that it reached a settlement with nine locations of a government contractor “to remedy systemic hiring and pay discrimination violations.” The contractor in question provides uniform and facility services products to private businesses and the federal government.

Read the story here.

Click here for the official DOL press release.

Former head of IU program files EEOC complaint

Chicago Tribune
Associated Press
6:35 a.m. CST, January 17, 2012

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.— The former director of an Indiana University scholarship program has filed a federal complaint accusing IU of gender and equal pay discrimination.

Full Story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in-iu-discrimination,0,4534889.story

US district court rules United Space Alliance must give US Labor Department access to information for review of its Cape Canaveral, Fla., facility

OFCCP News Release: [11/15/2011]
Contact Name: Laura McGinnis or Mike Trupo
Phone Number: (202) 693-4653 or x6588
Release Number: 11-1608-ATL

US district court rules United Space Alliance must give US Labor Department access to information for review of its Cape Canaveral, Fla., facility
Decision supports February ruling by Office of Administrative Law Judges

WASHINGTON — The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that United Space Alliance LLC must supply the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs with compensation information requested for a review of the company's Cape Canaveral, Fla., facility. The ruling upholds a Feb. 28 decision by the department's Office of Administrative Law Judges.
"Workplace discrimination is not universal, but it is far too common — and the people who suffer most are the American workers," said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. "At OFCCP, we are charged with identifying which federal contractors discriminate in their hiring and pay practices, and which are abiding by the law. We cannot serve our mission to protect workers if companies refuse to give us access to the records they promised to keep and share with us when they signed their contracts."
United Space Alliance, a spaceflight operations company and a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., holds contracts with NASA worth at least $8 billion dollars.
In 2009, OFCCP asked for information about United Space's affirmative action program and supporting documents to conduct a scheduled compliance review. The initial review raised questions about the company's pay practices, leading OFCCP to request additional data and records in order to complete the evaluation. The company refused to provide the records or to allow OFCCP access to its premises to gather the requested information.
In November 2010, the Labor Department's Office of the Solicitor filed a complaint with the department's Office of Administrative Law Judges alleging denial of access and requesting that United Space Alliance be compelled to comply with the requirements of Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 4212 of the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act, as well as permit OFCCP access to its facility and records.
Following a February 2011 hearing, an administrative law judge ruled in favor of OFCCP and issued a recommended decision and order that the company provide access to the requested compensation information within 30 days or be subject to contract suspension, cancellation and debarment. After additional administrative procedures, United Space Alliance sought review of the decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the Administrative Procedures Act.
In a Nov. 14 decision, Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled in favor of OFCCP on all issues — rejecting every major argument United Space Alliance made — and ordered the contractor to provide the requested documentation. "The [d]epartment has merely required United Space to submit data about its employee compensation," said Lamberth. "Submission to such lawful investigations is the price of working as a federal contractor."
Lamberth's order will become enforceable on Nov. 28.
OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. As amended, these three laws require those who do business with the federal government, both contractors and subcontractors, to follow 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 or visit its website at http://www.dol.gov/ofccp.

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ofccp/OFCCP20111608.htm

New Tool Could Help Identify Pay Discrimination, OFCCP Says

HR.BLR.Com
August 12, 2011

The DOL's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced possible plans to develop a compensation data tool that would affect federal contractors and subcontractors. The tool would collect information on salaries, wages, and other benefits paid to employees of federal contractors and subcontractors.

Full Story: http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Discrimination/Government-Contractors/New-Tool-Could-Help-Identify-Pay-Discrimination-OF/

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

# # #

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

AstraZeneca settles sales rep sex discrimination suit with feds for $250K

MM&MOnline.com
Lauren Folino
June 07, 2011

AstraZeneca agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by the US Department of Labor on behalf of 124 women sales reps working out of the firm's Philadelphia Business Center in Wayne, PA. The suit accused AstraZeneca of discriminating against female sales specialists by paying them salaries averaging $1,700 less than their male colleagues.
This was not the first documented case of the company negating to fairly pay its employees, the Department of Labor argued. According to a statement released by the agency in 2002, the organization's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) carried out a scheduled compliance review of the Wayne, PA office. AstraZeneca was found to have failed to meet its obligations as a contractor “to ensure employees were paid fairly without regard to sex, race, color, religion and national origin.” The company holds a contract with the US Department of Veteran Affairs – valued at more than $2 billion – which provides pharma products to hospitals and medical centers nationwide.

Full Story: http://www.mmm-online.com/astrazeneca-settles-sales-rep-sex-discrimination-suit-with-feds-for-250k/article/204736/

Seton Hall Professors Can Pursue Wage-Bias Suit, N.J. Supreme Court Rules

The Chronicle of Higher Education
November 24, 2010, 1:19 am

A lawsuit filed by three female professors who accuse Seton Hall University of pay discrimination can proceed, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, overturning lower-court decisions to dismiss the women’s claims. The lower courts had accepted the university’s argument that the suit was filed too late, based on a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court opinion that held that such complaints had to be filed within 180 days of when a discriminatory pay decision was originally made.

Full Story: http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/seton-hall-professors-can-pursue-wage-bias-suit-n-j-supreme-court-rules/28634?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

FEDERAL COURT ORDERS AARON BROTHERS TO PRODUCE DOCUMENTS IN EEOC INVESTIGATION

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
6-8-09

Art Supply Stores Must Provide National Statistical Data and Information Regarding Pay Disparity Allegations

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that Aaron Brothers, Inc. (Aaron Brothers) must provide nationwide statistical pay data, according to a ruling by U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz. The EEOC issued a subpoena during the course of a nationwide investigation into the company to determine if the retailer discriminated against female managers by paying them less than their male counterparts.
The EEOC filed its action (EEOC vs. Aaron Brothers Inc., et al, Case No. CV 07-5315 AHM (FMOx)) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California located in Los Angeles after the employer failed to fully comply with the EEOC’s investigatory subpoena.
In its decision, the court highlighted the “relatively low threshold for enforcing an administrative subpoena,” stating that the EEOC can request any information that is relevant and material to the investigation.
After acknowledging that the EEOC’s request for broad, nationwide data was relevant and material to its investigation, the court placed on the employer the “difficult burden of showing that the subpoena is overbroad or will place an undue burden on Aaron Brothers.” Because Aaron Brothers did not meet this difficult burden, the court ordered production of information for Aaron Brothers stores nationwide.
“This subpoena enforcement action makes clear that the EEOC will not back down when investigating claims of systemic compensation discrimination,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Anna Y. Park in Los Angeles. “The court properly ruled that the EEOC has the right to obtain nationwide compensation data to determine if a violation of federal law occurred.”
Aaron Brothers stores offer ready-made frames and mattes, art supplies, and custom framing services and operates more than 150 stores in about 10 states, mostly in Texas and the western United States.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

House Swiftly Passes Pay Discrimination Bills

Workforce Management
January 9, 2009

Only three days after beginning a new session, the House approved two bills Friday, January 9, that would make it easier for employees to sue for pay discrimination and collect larger damages.
The House votes, mostly along party lines, marked the second time that the bills have passed during the past two years, but they have to be acted on again because they previously did not make it through the Senate.
After an election that increased the Democratic majorities in both chambers and put a Democratic president in the White House, the prospect for the bills becoming law has improved dramatically, so House leaders moved them to the top of the legislative agenda.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas), which was approved 247-171, would restart the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit with each paycheck diminished by discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas), approved 256-163, would allow employees to pursue unlimited compensatory and punitive damages in pay lawsuits.
The House considered the bills under a rule that prevented amendments and then sent them as one package to the Senate. But it doesn’t look like the Senate will take the same approach as the House.
Within the next two weeks, the Senate intends to bring up only the Ledbetter bill, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.
“We’re going to do just that narrow issue,” Reid said at a press conference Wednesday.
Critics say the bills would significantly change civil rights law and foster costly lawsuits at a time when businesses are struggling to survive the recession.
The measures were put on a fast track by House Democratic leaders to address what they call pressing economic and social problems for women caused by workplace bias.

Full Story: http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/26/08/79.php