Publications

Affirmative action, and its role in the future, continues to be the topic of court cases and current political discussions. However, while the controversy continues throughout the country, one thing remains perfectly clear-the OFCCP remains committed to its enforcement procedures. Federal contractors should be reminded of the importance of affirmative action compliance by a recent compliance review of Textron’s Georgia plant, which resulted in Textron agreeing to pay $330,000 in back wages to 348 women who applied but were denied operator and polisher positions. Textron also has agreed to locate as many of the women as possible and to distribute back wages to those who can be found. The company must also agree to make job offers until a targeted number of women are hired as operators and polishers.

Another recent reminder is a Cleveland hospital that has agreed to pay $320,615 to 164 minority applicants who applied for entry level clerical and service positions but were not hired. The agreement between the hospital and the OFCCP also included the hiring of at least 24 of those applicants. The hospital is a federal contractor because it provides health care to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.

Federal contractors also should be aware that, during the past year, the OFCCP has been piloting tester programs. The initial pilot program in the Washington D.C. area found that black males seeking jobs in banks were treated differently than their white male counterparts. These results have prompted the OFCCP to expand such tester programs to other areas of the country.

Another recent trend of the OFCCP has been its focus on racial and sexual harassment as part of its inspections to ensure that contractors are complying with their obligations not to discriminate. In the Atlanta region, OFCCP compliance officers have been trained and have developed a series of questions to ask employees during an inspection such as, “Have you ever been harassed or do you know someone who has been harassed at work on the basis of race or sex?” Also, the agency is now vigorously investigating whether former workers quit because of harassment and are even calling women and minorities who voluntarily left the company to verify their reasons for leaving and to see if their reason for leaving might have been because of harassment. Although exact numbers have not been released, the agency confirms that a few of the people called said they left their jobs because of harassment. According to the OFCCP, all regional offices have now trained their compliance officers on this program and are expected to adopt and implement it.