Source: OFCCP Equal Pay Enforcement Fact Sheet
The OFCCP has substantially increased the number of enforcement actions addressing pay discrimination: conciliation agreements with pay remedies have more than doubled between FY 2010 and 2011. In fact, about 20% of the agency's financial settlements addressed compensation issues in FY 2011, a substantial increase over prior years.
The President has made "Fair Pay" one of his top priorities:
- Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act 9 days after taking office;
- Launched National Equal Pay Task Force (an interagency coordinating body of enforcement/oversight agencies);
- Mentioned fair pay in every State of the Union Address; and,
- Lobbied for legislation on Capitol Hill to strengthen enforcement.
The OFCCP has stepped-up its enforcement - evaluating the compensation practices of over 10,000 businesses (and recovering $1.4 million dollars in back pay) since January 2010, and looking for novel means to review employer compensation across business entities, states and even regions. An example may be found in the current round of Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letters (CSAL):
"This notification is not all-inclusive; therefore, it is possible that other establishments within your company may be selected for a supply-and-service compliance evaluation during this scheduling cycle."
Just last month, Secretary of Labor Solis announced the winners of the President's Equal Pay App Challenge - an initiative to bring tools to remedy pay inequities to one's smart phone, laptop or tablet. The winners (Aequitas, Close the Wage Gap, Demand Equal Pay for Women, and Gender Gap App) designed Apps designed to help women negotiate starting salaries, as well as a pay raise, or promotion.
Federal contractors and grant recipients have an obligation to monitor compensation practices, and all employers are encouraged to routinely review their procedures to ensure they are being implemented fairly and that systems are working well for all.
Top Ten Tips to Monitoring Compensation . . .
- Review initial job placements to ensure that equally-qualified minority group members/women are not disproportionately steered into lower-level or less desirable positions, product lines, routes, etc.;
- Ensure compensation monitoring is conducted utilizing substantially equal positions (Equal Pay Act);
- Monitor starting salaries amongst peer groups to ensure valid, legal rationale(s) for differentials in salary at time of hire;
- Monitor the use of "sub-salary grades" to ensure nondiscrimination in treatment;
- Review underlying performance management system(s) to ensure consistency in application and nondiscrimination;
- Ensure managers are utilizing compensation vehicles properly such as not to undermine the entire system (i.e., retention bonuses as one-time lump sums rather than as large salary increases, etc.);
- Review all out-of-guideline compensation decisions to ensure nondiscrimination in treatment;
- Perform annual review of merit increases;
- Review compensation annually utilizing the OFCCP mean (average) approach; and,
- Review all other forms of compensation - bonuses, long-term incentives, requisites and benefits - to ensure nondiscrimination.
Need more information?
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