The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has published two financial settlements that it secured from federal contractors early in its 2024 fiscal year—one as the result of a routine review of a functional affirmative action plan (AAP) and one as the result of an employee complaint:
Michael Baker International Inc. agreed to pay $122,299 to settle claims that it underpaid four female employees compared to males in similar positions in EEO Category 2 (Professionals). The OFCCP uncovered the pay disparities when it audited the company’s “Engineering Unit” functional AAP. (Normally, AAPs are organized by physical establishment, but federal contractors may seek the OFCCP’s approval to use functional AAPs, which are organized by business unit, instead.) The company also agreed to conduct compensation analyses, make pay adjustments if appropriate, update its compensation system, and train its managers on pay equity (conciliation agreement signed 01/31/24 and press release 02/01/24).
Veterans Evaluation Services agreed to pay $20,000 to resolve a complaint that it failed to engage in an interactive process in response to an employee’s request for reasonable accommodation of a disability. No details were provided, but the conciliation agreement states that the company will remove all references to discipline or termination from the employee’s file and to list the reason for separation as a voluntary quit (conciliation agreement signed 10/30/23).
Tips: It’s unclear what job titles the agency compared when concluding that four female professionals were underpaid compared to their male counterparts. EEO Category 2 (Professionals) can include a wide range of jobs, such as accountant, engineer, HR manager, attorney, etc. Even if all the jobs that were compared were engineering jobs, there can still be different levels of experience and responsibility that would justify differences in pay. Employers can’t control how the OFCCP compares jobs, but one step toward helping your company justify pay differences is to use descriptive job titles and subcategories, such as Junior Mechanical Engineer or Senior Electrical Engineer. Looking for help with a pay equity analysis? Your Vigilant Law Group employment attorney can refer you to a specialist and supervise the process under the protection of attorney-client privilege. If you use Vigilant to prepare your AAPs, your affirmative action staff representative conducts a simple cohort review of your compensation to meet OFCCP requirements.
