April 14, 2015 has been identified as National Equal Pay Day – the day which symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year.

President Obama has made fighting pay discrimination a top priority of his Civil Rights Agenda. He has recently taken several executive actions to further this agenda including:

  • Executive Order 13665 – Pay Transparency: Prohibiting discrimination/retaliation against applicants and employees, including employees who discuss pay.
  • Equal Pay Report: A report to be filed annually for employers reflecting company-wide compensation. OFCCP is in the process of evaluating the more than 8,000 comments received during the public comment period.

In addition, OFCCP has taken steps to ramp up its enforcement of pay discrimination:

  • Directive 307: effective February 2013 and outlines the procedures for reviewing contractor compensation systems and practices during a compliance evaluation
  • New Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing: requires detailed employee-level compensation data to be provided at the outset of every OFCCP compliance review. The data required to be submitted includes:
    • Base
    • Bonus
    • Commissions
    • Overtime Earned
    • Merit Increases
    • Incentive Compensation
  • Proposed Sex Discrimination Regulations: revises obligations for contractors around pay for women, among other things.

What does all of this mean? The President and OFCCP are serious about addressing pay discrimination and are building programs and processes in furtherance of this goal.

The question is – what are you doing proactively to ensure your company is paying people fairly?

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post where we will delve into the world of proactive pay analyses and what you can do to gain insight into your compensation systems.

Tags: Directive 307, Equal Pay Report, National Equal Pay Day, OFCCP, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Pay discrimination, Pay Transparency, Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing, Sex discrimination guidelines
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Photo of Laura A. Mitchell Laura A. Mitchell

Laura Mitchell is a principal in the Denver office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and leads the firm’s Workplace Analytics and Preventive Strategies Pay Equity subgroup. She partners with employers to evaluate, develop and implement policies and practices that ensure workplace fairness while mitigating…

Laura Mitchell is a principal in the Denver office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and leads the firm’s Workplace Analytics and Preventive Strategies Pay Equity subgroup. She partners with employers to evaluate, develop and implement policies and practices that ensure workplace fairness while mitigating legal risk. Laura is a guiding force in the firm’s most specialized and technical practice areas where she leverages an analytics-focused approach to partner with her clients in building legally compliant programs around which they can anchor their workplaces achieving productivity and stability.

Laura understands that creating a competitive advantage for employers in today’s workplace involves using a data-driven approach to counsel companies on the development of proactive and equitable non-discriminatory practices in hiring, promotions, separations and pay—and where advancements in technology can create both opportunities for efficiencies and risk that can be measured. Committed to putting her clients’ organizational goals first and foremost while balancing legal risk, Laura views herself as an extension of her clients’ team, responsible for providing proactive guidance and engaging in transparent, ongoing communication. Staying the course with employers across their organizational journey while balancing legal compliance obligations throughout their employees’ lifecycle ensures Laura’s position as a go-to resource.

Laura works with companies across all industries—both new and well-established multi-national organizations of all sizes—to realize the combined vision of legal compliance, increased productivity and economic growth enhanced by a focus on pay equity.  As part of the pay equity journey, she advises employers on the evolving pay transparency landscape, working to align compliant practices with the practical realities of the business world.

Laura partners closely with government contractors to understand, implement and demonstrate compliance with their EEO regulatory and compliance obligations. She also works closely with non-government contractor clients to conduct risk assessments of their programs, policies, and training to align with federal and state anti-discrimination requirements.

Laura is the editor and a principal contributor of the GovCon Employment Exchange blog and presents on pay equity and government contractor obligations. To round out her days, Laura enjoys spending time with her family and friends attending sports events, working out, riding her bike, playing pickleball and taking in Colorado’s incomparable sunsets.

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