In 2014 the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) initiated a routine compliance audit of Oracle America, Inc.’s (Oracle) California headquarters, which ultimately led to formal allegations of hiring and compensation violations of Executive Order 11246 and a demand for $400 million in monetary remedies.
Ongoing settlement negotiations since then have resolved some issues, but in essence the parties have stuck to their positions. Oracle has now taken the dispute to a new level by filing a lawsuit in federal district court in Washington, DC, alleging that the entirety of OFCCP’s enforcement regime is contrary to Executive Order 11246 and violates the U.S. Constitution and the federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
Such legal challenges to OFCCP’s enforcement authority over the years have been rare, and the ultimate outcome of this litigation if it goes to a final determination could be significant. That said, it likely will be many years before a final merits determination is rendered, assuming that the parties don’t eventually settle.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.