OFCCP Announces a Final Rule to Promote Pay Transparency

In too many workplaces around the country, women and people of color don’t know what their counterparts are earning for the same work. A culture of secrecy prevents them from finding out if they are being discriminated against in time to act on it. Lilly Ledbetter learned, only after decades at her job, that she had been paid less than her male counterparts. Her company’s policy forbidding her from discussing pay with co-workers prevented her from getting the information she needed to bring a complaint in time. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, the first piece of legislation signed by President Obama in 2009, helped people like her more effectively challenge unequal pay. However, pay secrecy policies still stand in the way of the fundamental principle of equal pay for equal work. If one of Lilly Ledbetter’s co-workers had simply been able to tell her about the discrimination that was taking place, she would have been better able to act in time to exercise her workplace rights. Indeed, the ability of workers to share information and effectively organize for their rights is a cornerstone of building an economy that works for everyone. Promoting pay transparency by prohibiting pay secrecy policies helps make the federal contractor workforce more efficient. Pay transparency helps level the playing field for women and people of color, and provides employers access to a diverse pool of qualified talent.

We know that Lilly Ledbetter’s case was not unique. Despite the existence of laws protecting workers from gender-based compensation discrimination for more than five decades, a pay gap between men and women persists today. Assuming that she works every year between ages 25 and 65, the typical woman will have lost $420,000 over her working lifetime because of the earnings gap, based on median annual earnings for full-time, year-round workers at age 25 and above in 2013. In addition to a wage gap between men and women, the research reveals a wage gap amongst various racial groups. At the beginning of 2015, median weekly earnings for African-American men working at full-time jobs totaled $680 per week - only 76 percent of the median for white men, who earned $897 per week. The median weekly earnings for African-American women equaled $611 per week, or 68 percent of the median for white men. When employees and applicants are prohibited from inquiring about, disclosing, or discussing their compensation with other workers, compensation discrimination is much more difficult to discover and remediate, and more likely to persist.

That is why, in 2014, President Obama issued Executive Order 13665, promoting pay transparency and openness, making it possible for workers and job applicants to share information about their pay and compensation without fear of discrimination. On September 10, 2015, the Department of Labor issued a Final Rule implementing that order. This Final Rule takes effect on January 11, 2016, 120 days after its publication in the Federal Register, and amends the existing regulations that implement EO 11246.
 
The Final Rule amends the EO 11246 implementing regulations by:

• Requiring that certain information be included in covered federal contracts and subcontracts. The Final Rule requires that the equal opportunity clause included in covered federal contracts and subcontracts be amended to include that federal contractors and subcontractors must refrain from discharging, or otherwise discriminating against, employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants. An exception exists where the employee or applicant makes the disclosure based on information obtained in the course of performing his or her essential job functions;

• Requiring that federal contractors incorporate a prescribed nondiscrimination provision into their existing employee manuals or handbooks and disseminate the nondiscrimination provision to employees and to job applicants;

• Defining key terms such as compensation, compensation information, and essential job functions as used in EO 11246, as amended; and

• Providing employers with two defenses to an allegation of discrimination: a general defense, which could be based on the enforcement of a "workplace rule" that does not prohibit the discussion of compensation information; and an essential job functions defense. 

The Final Rule is effective January 11, 2016 and applies to all new contracts over $10K.  The FAQ section provides additional insight and details on this final rule.

Read the Final Rule and Executive Orders
•    Read the Final Rule
•    Read Executive Order 13665
•    Read Executive Order 11246

Source: Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)

Mad Men, Working Women and Fair Pay

by Patricia Shiu on January 29, 2014

President Obama demonstrated his commitment to equal pay with the first bill he signed as president: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on Jan. 29, 2009. In his State of the Union address five years later, President Obama again made a forceful argument for equal pay.

“Today, women make up about half our workforce,” he said. “But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment. A woman deserves equal pay for equal work. … It’s time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a ‘Mad Men’ episode.”
 
Lilly Ledbetter went for years without knowing she was the victim of pay discrimination. Unfortunately, her experience is all too common. So, at the Labor Department we are working to make it easier for women to learn about the pay gap and to take action to protect their rights. We’ve developed several tools to help women ensure that they’re receiving fair wages, such as the web and Smartphone apps developed in our 2012 Equal Pay App Challenge.

We’re also working very hard to make sure that employers abide by the law when it comes to paying their workers fairly. At the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, while conducting audits we regularly collect and analyze data about how workers are being paid in order to find the “hidden discrimination” that they – like Ledbetter – don’t know about. Over the last four years, we have built up a pretty impressive record of fighting pay discrimination and winning, and winning and winning some more. I believe that trend will continue as we go forward.

Before I joined the Obama administration, I spent 26 years representing workers who had been affected by discrimination. And one thing I am sure of is that the best way to ensure equal pay is for workers to take an active role – to be their own best advocates.

With that in mind, here are three things every woman, and man, can do to mind the (pay) gap:

1. Know your worth. Do your research, be aware of company and industry pay trends and don’t be afraid to negotiate for the salary and benefits you deserve.

1. Know your rights. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 are three key laws designed to eliminate pay discrimination. Learn what those laws require and how they apply to you.

1. Take Action. If you are concerned that you are not being paid fairly, we are here to help.

Closing the pay gap is not easy nor is it the job of any one entity. In other words, we can’t do this alone.

Obama encouraged the nation to work together to address the economic challenges women face, saying: “This year, let’s all come together – Congress, the White House, and businesses from Wall Street to Main Street – to give every woman the opportunity she deserves. Because I firmly believe when women succeed, America succeeds.”

We agree.

At OFCCP, we will continue to make sure that employers understand and live up to their responsibilities under the law. We will also keep providing the information workers need to be their best advocates. Because getting to fair pay takes more than one agency or one advocate or one tool – it’s everyone’s job.

Patricia Shiu is the director of the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

Lilly Ledbetter to Headline Excel Training Event August 27-29 in Denver

EEOC's Premiere Federal Sector Equal Employment Opportunity Law Program Will Now Feature Private, State, Local Agenda

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Equal Pay Act, Lilly Ledbetter, for whom the Lilly Ledbetter Act was named, will be the keynote speaker at the annual U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Examining Conflicts in Employment Laws (EXCEL) training conference, the EEOC Training Institute announced. For the first time, the conference, to be held in Denver on August 27-29, 2013, will feature separate sessions directed at private sector practitioners.

EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien will address the combined conference in a separate keynote. Additionally, Lafe Solomon, Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, will give an NLRB update, including recent litigation about the use of social media by employees.

Now in its 16th year, this annual event has brought together federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Human Resources and Alternate Dispute Resolution practitioners, members of the private bar and EEOC experts to discuss the laws and procedures governing equal employment opportunity in the federal sector.

For the first time this year, the program will offer a complete, separate agenda on cutting edge developments in the private sector, which also includes state and local employees. Topics include EEOC's recent Enforcement Guidance on the Use of Criminal Records; the seven mistakes employers make when they get a charge of discrimination, wage discrimination and more.

The Federal Sector side will include updates to EEO laws and regulations and many topics of interest to HR managers and staff. There will also be three full-day pre-conference sessions: EEO Counselor Refresher, EEO Investigator Refresher and Litigation before the MSPB and the EEOC. These sessions will be held Monday, August 26, 2013, and are available to those following the federal agenda. The federal program also features training sessions leading to required certificates for agency personnel working in federal EEO offices.

Registration for the event, including the closed training sessions, is now open. Registration questions can be directed to 1(866)446-0940 or 1(800)828-1120 (TTY) or eeoc.traininginstitute@eeoc.gov. The event will take place at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Denver, where a special rate is available for overnight stays for participants.

Source: EEOC

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

70% of Highest-Paid Obama White House Staffers Are Men

Seventy-percent of the White House staffers who made the top annual salary of $172,200 in 2012 were men and 30 percent were women, according to a White House report on staff compensation.

In addition, men on the White House staff are paid, on average, $86,260.89 and women are paid, on average, $76,162.65. That means the average man on the White House staff is paid about $10,098--about 13 percent--more than the average woman.

In Obama's White House, women on average earn only 88.3 percent of what the men earn.

Those numbers conflict with the pay-equity philosophy espoused by the president and his administration.

In signing legislation into law -- the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act -- in 2009, which was designed in part to help ensure pay equity between men and women, President Obama said, "So, in signing this bill, I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal--but bad for business--to pay someone less because of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability."

"And I sign this bill for my daughters, and all those who will come after us, because I want them to grow up in a nation that values their contributions," said Obama, "where there are no limits to their dreams and they have opportunities their mothers and grandmothers never could have imagined."

The current gender disparity in Obama White House compensation is similar to the gender disparity in compensation that was evident in Obama's Senate staff.

In 2008, CNSNews.com reported that Obama, on average, paid women on his Senate staff only 78 percent of what he paid men--with the average man on Obama's Senate staff getting an annual salary of $57,425.00 and the average woman getting an annual salary or $44,953.21.

In 2012, according to a report to Congress on White House staff salaries, there were 466 total paid White House Office employees (there were also two unpaid staffers) -- 234 were women and 232 were men.
The highest annual compensation for any White House staffers in 2012 was $172,200, and a total of 20 people earned that top salary.

Among those 20 employees, 14 were men and 6 were women--making 70 percent of the highest-paid White House staffers men, and 30 percent women. (White House Top 20 Salaries Male and Female.pdf)

Among the men making $172,200 a year at the White House, for example, were Chief of Staff Jacob Lew, Press Secretary Jay Carney, Senior Adviser David Plouffe, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy Eugene Sperling; Director of Speechwriting Jonathan Favreau, and John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism.

The six women making $172,200 were senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, Chief of Staff to the First Lady Christina Tchen; Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Nancy-Ann DeParle, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Alyssa Mastromonaco, Director of the Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Munoz, and Counsel to the President Kathryn Ruemmler. (White House Top 20 Salaries Male and Female.pdf)

For the total 234 women who worked one the White House staff, salaries ranged from $172,200 to $41,000. The average for all of them was $76,162.65. (WH Office Employees, Female, 2012.xls)

For the 232 men on the White House staff, salaries also ranged between $172,200 and $41,000. The average salary for them was $86,260.89. (WH Office Employees, Male, 2012.xls)

On average, in the Obama White House, men make 13.26 percent more than women, and women are paid only 88.29 percent of what the men are paid.
The male employees make an average of $10,098 more than the female employees make.

CNSNews.com sent several e-mail and telephone inquiries to the White House for comment on this story but the White House press office did not respond.

The White House has been required since 1995 to submit a report to Congress detailing the title and salary of every employee at its office. As part of President Obama's "commitment to transparency," the 2012 White House Office report is available to the public on the White House's website, as are reports from the first three years of the president's first term.

In November 2010, President Obama, who earns $400,000 annually, froze the salaries of every White House staffer who makes over $100,000, meaning the only way for an employee over that benchmark to receive a raise would be through increased responsibilities or a different job. The maximum salary has been $172,200 since 2008, when it was increased by 2.5% from $168,000.

Source: SNSNews.com

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