Federal Contractors to Pay Out More than $3M to Resolve Discrimination Charges
October 22, 2018
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has resolved a number of investigations of discrimination by federal government contractors. The conciliation agreements amount to more than $3 million in recovery for affected job applicants and employees. We recommend all employers that are or might think they are federal contractors contact SESCO to ensure compliance with OFCCP regulations.
Among the settlements posted:
- Accenture Federal Services LLC will provide $150,000 in monetary relief after the OFCCP found the employer discriminated against black and Asian job applicants when hiring for associate software engineer positions.
- Hillshire Brands Co. (Sara Lee Foods) will pay $350,000 in backpay plus interest to remedy claims of discrimination when hiring for sanitation and laborer positions; the employer also failed to create a job group analysis, conduct adverse impact analyses, and preserve relevant employment and personnel records.
- The Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute will pay $175,000 after an investigation found that it discriminated against African-American applicants in hiring for patient access specialist and ophthalmic technician assistant positions, and also failed to preserve and make available for inspection required hiring records, develop and maintain an internal audit system, and list job openings with the state workforce agency job bank or employment service delivery system.
- LabCorp will pay $95,648 in relief after an OFCCP investigation found the company failed to provide equal employment opportunity to female applicants when hiring for service representative positions; the employer also failed to perform in-depth analyses of its employment processes to determine where their EEO efforts fell short, or to develop an internal audit procedure for evaluating the effectiveness of its AAP, or to maintain records and have them available for inspection.
- Meggitt (Erlanger) LLC will pay $161,126 in relief to resolve claims of compensation discrimination against female employees in its direct labor semi-skilled operative group positions.
- MVM, Inc., will pay $250,000 in backpay and provide other relief for claims of discriminatory termination of African-born security guards; the company also failed to provide a workplace free of harassment, threats, and intimidation based on African national origin, sex, and disability status, and failed to preserve required employment records.
- Omnicare of Northern Illinois will provide a settlement fund of $300,000 to resolve allegations it discriminated against Asian pharmacy technicians by paying them less than similarly situated non-Asian employees; the employer also failed to conduct an in-depth analyses of its total employment process to determine where impediments to equal opportunity in employment exist.
- Penske Truck Leasing Co., L.P., entered into a conciliation agreement pursuant to which it will provide a $300,000 settlement fund to resolves claims of compensation discrimination against 104 female employees who were paid less than males in professional information technology and finance positions.
- Performance Food Group, Inc., will pay nearly $600,000 to resolve allegations of race and sex discrimination in hiring for "selector" jobs at company facilities in Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee; the employer also committed technical violations of federal contracting provisions at its Florida and North Carolina locations.
- Powell Electrical Systems, Inc., will pay $275,000 to settle allegations it discriminated against female and black and white applicants (favoring Hispanic workers) for assembler positions, it also allegedly failed to maintain (and have available for inspection) an adverse impact analysis for race, and failed to maintain required employment records.
- U.S. Security Associates, Inc., will pay $275,000 to resolve findings of discrimination against female and nonwhite applicants for security guard positions; the company also failed to conduct adverse impact analyses, maintain an affirmative action program, maintain required records, and post notice of the location and hours when its AAP for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are available for inspection.
- Waste Connections of Missouri, Inc., will pay $246,386 in backpay and interest to resolve claims that it discriminated against 42 black applicants for driver positions, violated applicable recordkeeping provisions, and failed to list openings with state workforce agency job banks.
