As noted by Michael Fox in a recent post on his Employer’s Lawyer blog,, an OFCCP Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) just released a 66-page decision in a case that began with an audit notice in 1993. The case was bogged down in large part due to the bank’s contention that it was not selected for audit in accordance with its constitutional right under the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. That claim was ultimately unsuccessful. As a result of the delay, though, the bank found itself litigating claims about hiring practices dating back to 1993. Not surprisingly, the recollections of key witnesses such as the recruiters were foggy on some points. Continue reading
Category Archives: Diversity
OFCCP Delays the Start Date for Mandatory E-Verify Yet Again
Responding to a lawsuit, the OFCCP previously agreed to delay implementation of the new mandate that federal contractors use E-Verify. The lawsuit, as you may recall from previous posts, was filed by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and other organizations. Continue reading
Affirmative Action To Be Reconsidered in Three States This Fall
Affirmative Action is back in employment-law news. In November, voters in three states (Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska), will decide whether to end consideration of race in admissions to public universities, and in hiring and contract awards by state and local governments. California, Washington and Michigan have already passed similar initiatives. Continue reading
Two Recent Diversity Initiatives: One Carrot and One Stick
Corporations normally employ both in-house and outside counsel to handle its legal matters. In recent years, many global companies have begun paying closer attention to z
the diverse makeup of the outside firms they hire. The [logical] thought being that, if the company is going to put an emphasis on a diverse workplace, why shouldn’t it hold their contractors to the same standards? Wal-Mart and Microsoft have recently announced plans to improve diversity in very proactive ways taking very different approaches. One could say they represent the carrot-and-the-stick approach. Continue reading
Federal Contractors Must List Job Openings: OFCCP Issues Final Rule
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a final rule on mandatory job listing by federal contracts. The rule is equired by the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act,* (“VEVRAA”) and the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002 (“JVA”). Federal contractors are required to list almost all job openings with “the state workforce agency job bank where the opening occurs or with the local employment service delivery system where the opening occurs.” The exceptions to this rule include openings for executive and top management positions, positions that are to be filled internally, and positions that will last three days or less. Continue reading
