For anyone who believed that the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) would ease off on enforcement during the current administration, the latest litigation and settlement developments belie that premise.
Indeed, it has been a very busy year for OFCCP on the enforcement front – both through its litigation efforts and less formal settlements via so-called conciliation agreements (CAs). Just since our last update, OFCCP has achieved a $6.6 million judgment in a formal enforcement action and over $24 million in back pay and interest for over 6,000 individuals in the additional 27 settlements recently uploaded to its FOIA Library.
Consistent with the agency’s ongoing focus on contractor compensation practices, this latest round of conciliation agreements suggests that the agency is continuing to vigorously pursue indicators of compensation discrimination – settling one case for nearly $10 million. Of the 27 settlements posted since our last update, 7 were for compensation violations, 19 were for hiring violations, and one was for both hiring and compensation violations.
This latest round of settlements also suggests that OFCCP is increasingly reaching settlements by way of its Early Resolution Procedures (ERPs) in cases where alleged violations at a single establishment indicate that the alleged violations may be corporate-wide. Of the $24 million collected in settlements, nearly $21 million was collected from the seven ERP settlements reported.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.