Over the past six months, DCI has continued to monitor OFCCP enforcement trends and priorities regarding compliance evaluations in FY 2016. In our 2015 blog we noted a reduction in the number of new audit scheduling letters received throughout 2015, and only seven settlements resulted in press releases during the January through September time-frame. As predicted, we are seeing a similar pattern with fewer, more thorough audits. This is evident by the increase in the amount of data requested by OFCCP in the initial submission and far more extensive follow-up requests than we have seen in the past. There have been a total of seven settlements with press releases since October 2015.
In 2016, OFCCP has continued its focus on pay discrimination, failure-to-hire cases and steering allegations involving both males and females as well as whites and minority subgroups as protected classes. A total of 133 conciliation agreements have resulted in 14 financial settlements totaling upwards of $2.6 million, the majority of which stems from the G&K Services systemic hiring and pay discrimination settlement of roughly $1.8 million. There have also been a total of 48 complaints filed that have resulted in two findings of discrimination – both relating to discrimination on the basis of disability status.
The table below highlights the first six months of OFCCP’s FY 2016 activity:
|
Region |
Reviews Closed |
Conciliation Agreements |
Financial Agreement |
Settlement Amount |
OFCCP Allegation (Impacted Group) |
|
Mid-Atlantic |
67 |
13 |
0 |
$0 |
|
|
Midwest |
128 |
39 |
3 |
$705, 477 |
|
|
Northeast |
81 |
19 |
1 |
$181,000 |
|
|
Pacific |
144 |
39 |
1 |
$92, 580 |
|
|
Southeast |
94 |
18 |
4 |
$293, 932 |
|
|
SWARM |
89 |
5 |
5 |
$1,367,558 |
|
|
Grand Total: |
603 |
133 |
14 |
$2,640,547* |
*Nearly 70% of the total settlement amount came from the G&K settlements in the Midwest, Pacific, Southeast and SWARM regions
As OFCCP maintains its stance on active case enforcement through 2016, contractors need to take extra care in conducting self-audits of their selection procedures and pay systems to ensure they are nondiscriminatory. In the event of an audit, contractors will want to consult with their EEO and legal experts to determine the appropriate information to submit to OFCCP.
By: Brittany Dian, Associate Consultant, and Jeff Henderson, Associate Consultant, DCI Consulting Group