U.S. Agency Heads Alert HR Managers to Focus on Pay Equity and Rights of Veterans/Disabled

At last week's National Industrial Liaison Group meeting in Las Vegas, the director of the Office of Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Patricia Shiu, told the group of over 660 corporate human resources managers that the agency views pay equity as a "family issue" and will be taking a more aggressive enforcement stance on pay practices. OFCCP intends to make examination of contractors' pay systems a routine part of compliance reviews. Shiu said she is seeking a more workable paradigm than the OFCCP's 2006 standards, which have been difficult for the agency to enforce, and will be rescinding the 2006 Interpretative Guidance on pay discrimination. The agency will be seeking federal contractor input for new guidance.

Regarding workers with disabilities, the OFCCP just issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking under the Rehabilitation Act. The agency is seeking stakeholder input on whether goals and timetables like those used for Executive Order 11246 should be put in place for the disabled, among other questions.

Jacqueline Berrien, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), told the gathering that she hoped to announce new regulations "very soon" regarding the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). Berrien said of the commission's relationship with the OFCCP that the two agencies are identifying ways to use employment data more efficiently, and that they understand it is important to "speak with a united voice" regarding enforcement of EEOC laws. Berrien said she was "heartened" that most employers understand that commitment to equality is not incompatible with business success even in difficult economic times.

Both Shiu and Berrien made it very clear that enforcement is back in the enforcement agencies and that they will be litigating those cases which cannot be conciliated.