On Wednesday, the Tenth Circuit joined the First, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits (and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) in holding that transferring an employee for the purposes of medical treatment or therapy may be a reasonable accommodation under the Rehabilitation Act – even if an employee is able to perform essential functions of a job without such a transfer.
Category Archives: EEO
Treasury Issues Proposed Rule That Would Require Contractors To Confirm Good Faith Efforts to Include Women and Minorities in Their Workforce
On August 21, 2012, the United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) issued a proposed rule to implement the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank”). The proposed rule requires the Treasury to confirm that its contractors undertake good faith efforts to include women and minorities in their workforce. Section 342 of Dodd-Frank established an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (“OMWI”) in various agencies, including the Treasury, and requires those agencies to ensure “fair inclusion of women and minorities in the [contractor’s] workforce.”
Filed under Discrimination, EEO, OFCCP
ARB Overturns Favorable Decision for Contractors
On May 8, 2012, the Administrative Review Board for the Department of Labor (“ARB”) reversed a very favorable ruling for contractors, holding that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) could request data from contractors during desk audits concerning hiring, terminations and promotions after the period covered by OFCCP’s initial Scheduling Letter.
OFCCP Rejects Requests to Extend the Comment Period for its Proposed Rule That Would Drastically Expand Contractor’s Obligations for Individuals with Disabilities
On January 27, 2012, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) rejected requests from the contractor community to provide additional time for comments on its proposed regulations under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Rehabilitation Act”) that would impose fundamental changes in federal contractors’ obligations involving persons with disabilities. On December 9, 2011, the OFCCP issued a proposed rule that would amend the Rehabilitation Act. A summary of the proposed rule is provided below.
EEOC and OFCCP Enter a New Memorandum of Understanding
On November 7, 2011, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) entered a new Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) that allows for greater sharing of information between the agencies and collaboration on enforcement initiatives. The stated goal of the MOU is “to promote greater efficiency and coordination, and to eliminate conflict and duplication of effort” between the agencies. There has been a MOU between the two agencies since 1970. Although the MOU has been updated several times (e.g., 1974, 1981, and 1999), the agencies have rarely coordinated or collaborated on enforcement initiatives.
OFCCP Settles Hiring Discrimination Case with Caviness Beef Packers for $600,000
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) recently announced that it entered a Conciliation Agreement with Amarillo-based Caviness Beef Packers, Ltd. (“Caviness”) after a compliance evaluation revealed hiring discrimination at two of its meat processing facilities.
OFCCP determined during a compliance review of Caviness that the contractor had statistically significant disparities in the hiring rates, favoring men over women and Hispanics over non-Hispanics. Caviness agreed to enter a Conciliation Agreement with OFCCP requiring it to pay $600,000 to 746 identified class members as back pay and interest. In addition, Caviness agreed to extend offers to 81 women and non-Hispanics as positions become available and to revise its selection procedures for production producers to avoid any future violations.
Administrative Judge Finds Contractor Could Not Argue OFCCP Lacked Jurisdiction Over Data It Voluntarily Delivered to OFCCP
On September 19, 2011, Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) Stephen Purcell held in OFCCP v. Nash Finch Co., ALJ Case No. 2011-OFC-00004, that OFCCP could undertake enforcement actions based on data the contractor voluntarily delivered to OFCCP that was initially outside of OFCCP’s jurisdiction Continue reading
OFCCP Seeks Input from Federal Government Contractors on a Proposed New Compensation Tool
On August 10, 2011, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued its advance notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPRM”) requesting comments on a new compensation data collection tool it plans to create. The OFCCP indicated that this new tool could potentially be used to identify compensation discrimination at contractor establishments and identify and analyze “industry trends, Federal contractors’ compensation practices, and potential equal employment-related issues.” Continue reading
Filed under Compensation, Discrimination, EEO, OFCCP
OFCCP Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Amend VEVRAA Regulations
On April 26, 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) published proposed regulations that would impose additional affirmative action obligations on federal government contractors under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA). If finalized, the regulations would require contractors, among other things, to establish annual hiring benchmarks to track the effectiveness of their affirmative action programs, to request disclosure information from applicants, and to collect data concerning job referrals.
Continue reading this entry at Cooley’s Client Alerts.
