OFCCP’s New Enforcement Tools Pay Off
April 8, 2006
by Employment & Labor Law / Employee Benefits Group
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
Copyright © 2006
Fewer federal contractors were targeted for compliance evaluations by the Office of Federal Contracts Compliance Programs (OFCCP) in Fiscal Year 2005, but the agency’s new methods in selecting employers to target resulted in a record recovery for workers subjected to unlawful employment discrimination.
Focus on Systemic Discrimination – "In 2003, OFCCP shifted its field operations focus from the total number of cases to the number of cases with indicators of systemic discrimination." Under its new paradigm, OFCCP "uses automated statistical methods and ranks and prioritizes establishments for a more thorough analysis based on the probability that discrimination would be uncovered during a compliance review."
Fewer Compliance Evaluations – As a result of its new emphasis, OFCCP conducted only 2,730 full-fledged compliance evaluations (which does not include the more limited "compliance checks") in Fiscal Year 2005, down from 6,529 a year earlier.
Record Recovery – Despite fewer compliance evaluations, OFCCP recovered a record $45 million "for 14,761 American workers who had been subjected to unlawful employment discrimination. Of that record recovery, 97% was collected in cases of systemic discrimination, those involving a significant number of workers or applicants subjected to discrimination because of an unlawful employment practice or policy."
Bottom Line – The average benefit per victim recovered by the OFCCP in Fiscal Year 2005 was $3,059, which is only about $240 higher than the average recovered by the OFCCP over the previous four years.
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP is one of the country's largest law firms with more than 335 attorneys in more than 45-industry-focused areas. If you would like more information regarding this summary, please contact one of our Employment & Labor Law and Employee Benefits attorneys.
Law at Work is designed to give general information and is not intended to be a comprehensive summary or to treat exhaustively the subjects and matters covered. The information appearing herein does not constitute legal advice or opinions. Such advice and opinions are provided only upon engagement with respect to specific factual situations. Nothing contained herein shall be considered as an admission in any matter or controversy.
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