Data mining giant Westat to pay $1.5M to settle discrimination case

More than 3,600 African American, Asian American, Hispanic and female applicants to benefit

Federal contractor Westat Inc. has agreed to settle allegations that it failed to provide equal employment opportunities to 3,651 African American, Asian American, Hispanic and female job applicants at its Rockville headquarters and at field sites in California, Connecticut, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina and Tennessee. The conciliation agreement entered into by Westat and the department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs resolves these and numerous other violations, including a failure to maintain and internally audit its own records.

"For more than 50 years, Westat has effectively harnessed the power of data to produce ground-breaking research," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "That commitment to data integrity should also be applied to its employment practices so that every worker has a fair shot at getting a good job and company leadership understands exactly who is getting hired and why."

During a scheduled compliance review, OFCCP investigators discovered that Westat used a selection process that systematically discriminated against 2,153 African American, 825 Asian American and 35 Hispanic job applicants for research analyst, programmer analyst, telephone data collector and field data collector positions, as well as 638 female applicants for survey process staff positions, between Oct. 1, 2008, and Sept. 30, 2009. 
 
Under the terms of the settlement, Westat will pay a total of $1,500,000 in back wages and interest to 3,651 affected applicants and make 113 job offers to the original class members as positions become available. The company has also agreed to preserve and maintain all employment records, correct record-keeping violations, conduct internal audits, and perform outreach and positive recruitment activities. These efforts are integral to compliance with Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Westat is one of the leading research and statistical survey organizations in the United States. Over the past six years, the company has held more than $2.8 billion in federal contracts with agencies including the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Labor, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Treasury and Veterans Affairs.

Source: DOL

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

DOL settles second discrimination charge against Lincoln Electric Co.

Agreement includes job offers, $1M for 5,557 African American applicants

Lincoln Electric Co. has agreed to settle allegations of hiring discrimination on the basis of race following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. An investigation by OFCCP compliance officers found that the federal contractor violated Executive Order 11246 by using a hiring process that resulted in systemic discrimination against African American applicants. As a result, 5,557 qualified African Americans were rejected for entry-level factory and production positions at the company's Cleveland facility.

Under the terms of the conciliation agreement, Lincoln Electric will pay $1 million in back wages and interest to the 5,557 affected job seekers and will offer entry-level positions to 48 class members as positions become available. Additionally, the company will revise its selection policies and procedures, including making changes to its online application test, to ensure equal employment opportunity for all job applicants going forward.

"Vigilance is paramount in enforcing civil rights," said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. "When we find violations of the law, corrective measures must be taken and lasting reform implemented so that further discrimination is not perpetuated against more workers. We will remain vigilant as we work with Lincoln Electric to ensure that unfair barriers in the company's hiring process are fixed once and for all."

During a scheduled compliance review, OFCCP determined that Lincoln Electric's paper and online application systems created multiple barriers for African Americans to advance in the selection process. In addition, Lincoln Electric's applications and post-application tests were not properly supported by a validation study that satisfies the requirements of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures.
 
Since 2005, Lincoln Electric has held more than $2 million in federal contracts to manufacture welding, cutting and joining products for the federal government. The company was cited for the same violation more than a decade ago when an OFCCP review found that the contractor had discriminated in hiring against minorities and women who applied for entry-level factory jobs. Those charges were settled by a 2003 conciliation agreement that provided $1 million in back pay and interest to the affected workers in that case.

Source: DOL

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

Company agrees to pay back wages to nearly 2,000 female job applicants

Clougherty Packing Co., a federal contractor and subsidiary of Hormel Food Corp., has settled allegations of systemic hiring discrimination against female job applicants following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

Compliance officers reviewing Clougherty's hiring practices determined that, between 2007 and 2009, the company violated Executive Order 11246 by using a hiring process that discriminated against women — the majority of whom are Latinas — who applied for laborer positions at the company's meat-packing plant in Los Angeles. Under the terms of its conciliation agreement with OFCCP, Clougherty will pay $439,538 in back wages, including interest, to 1,988 qualified female job applicants rejected for these entry-level positions. Clougherty also will make 700 job offers to affected women as positions become available. Furthermore, the company has agreed to undertake extensive self-monitoring measures to ensure that all of its hiring practices fully comply with the law.

"So many Americans grew up eating Dodger Dogs and other Hormel products. These are uniquely American brands that ought to reflect American values, particularly when it comes to ensuring fairness in the workplace," said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. "During this holiday season, I hope that this settlement can provide a little financial help and a whole lot of justice for the women who were denied a fair shot at employment. Moreover, I am glad we were able to work with Clougherty to make sure that there will be greater opportunities for women to get jobs going forward."

Women who applied and were rejected for laborer positions at Clougherty's Los Angeles facility between Feb. 10, 2007, and Feb. 9, 2009, may be eligible for the back wages, interest and job opportunities in this settlement. The company has committed to contacting all class members to explain their eligibility for these remedies. However, anyone who does not receive such a notice and believes the omission is in error can contact OFCCP's toll-free helpline at 800-397-6251 (TTY: 877-889-5627) for more information.

Clougherty Packing Co. sells more than 400 million pounds of pork per year, including products sold under the Farmer John label and "Dodger Dogs," which are served at the Los Angeles Dodgers' baseball stadium. The company currently holds a federal contract of $3.9 million with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which distributes Clougherty products to food banks and other assistance programs. Family-owned for generations, Clougherty Packing was sold in 2004 to Austin, Minn.-based Hormel.

Source: DOL OFCCP

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

Second Victory to EEOC in Sex Discrimination Case

In a second victory for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected Cintas Corporation's petition to reconsider its earlier ruling that the EEOC was wrongly denied permission to litigate a lawsuit alleging Cintas engaged in hiring discrimination against a class of women in Michigan. The court's one-page order, issued Jan. 15, 2013, indicated that no judge had requested a vote on Cintas' suggestion for full court review. The case will now return to the district court for further proceedings.

With the order, the Sixth Circuit has now made final its ruling of November 9, 2012, in which the Court overturned the district court's dismissal of the EEOC's lawsuit against Cintas, reversed significant procedural rulings, ordered the district court to reconsider whether EEOC should be allowed to depose Cintas CEO Scott Farmer, and found "no basis" for the district court's ordering EEOC to pay Cintas $2.6 million in attorney fees.

"The court of appeals has confirmed EEOC's ability to use all the tools Congress provided in Title VII when EEOC challenges a pattern or practice of discrimination," said EEOC General Counsel David Lopez. He added that the Sixth Circuit's rulings, coupled with Friday's decision in EEOC v. United Parcel Service, where the district court for the Northern District of Illinois reversed its own ruling barring the EEOC from filing a class complaint without complete information on all possible bias victims, are a "tremendous victory for the EEOC's systemic litigation program."

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Source: EEOC

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

 

DOL sex discrimination case settled; company to pay back wages

Source: United States Department of Labor

Clougherty Packing Co., a federal contractor and subsidiary of Hormel Food Corp., has settled allegations of systemic hiring discrimination against female job applicants following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

Compliance officers reviewing Clougherty's hiring practices determined that, between 2007 and 2009, the company violated Executive Order 11246 by using a hiring process that discriminated against women — the majority of whom are Latinas — who applied for laborer positions at the company's meat-packing plant in Los Angeles. Under the terms of its conciliation agreement with OFCCP, Clougherty will pay $439,538 in back wages, including interest, to 1,988 qualified female job applicants rejected for these entry-level positions. Clougherty also will make 700 job offers to affected women as positions become available. Furthermore, the company has agreed to undertake extensive self-monitoring measures to ensure that all of its hiring practices fully comply with the law.

To read more, click here.

This information is intended to be educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.

Another Finding of Pre-Employment Screening Discrimination

Source: OFCCP News Release

$550,000 in compensation for more than 250 job applicants who are African-American, of Asian or Hispanic descent

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a consent decree with Leprino Foods Inc. to resolve charges of systemic hiring discrimination at the company's Lemoore West facility. The consent decree, signed today by an administrative law judge with the Labor Department, settles OFCCP's allegations that Leprino Foods' use of a pre-employment test to select hires for on-call laborer positions resulted in discrimination against African-American job applicants and applicants of Asian and Hispanic descent.

OFCCP determined that Leprino Foods violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the bases of race, color, religion, sex and national origin in their employment practices. The agency made its findings after a scheduled compliance review in which OFCCP investigators conducted interviews, analyzed company data and reviewed documents provided by the company. Through this review, OFCCP discovered that the administration of the pre-employment exam had an adverse impact on minority job applicants for these specific positions. The agency further determined that the exam was not job-related, as it tested applicants' skills in mathematics, locating information and observation — skills that are not critical to the entry-level tasks performed by on-call laborers, such as inspecting products, monitoring equipment and maintaining sanitation at the facility.

Under the terms of the consent decree, Leprino will pay $550,000 in back wages, interest and benefits to 253 minority workers who were rejected for on-call laborer positions between January 2005 and October 2006 because they failed the exam. Additionally, the company has agreed to discontinue use of the test for this purpose, hire at least 13 of the original class members, undertake extensive self-monitoring measures and immediately correct any discriminatory practices.

Read the full news release