The Department of Labor has extended the public comment period for the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed guidance (“DOL Guidance”) implementing President Obama’s “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order (E.O. 13673). The Department of Defense has done the same with respect to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (“FAR”) Council proposed regulations (“
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 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.
OFCCP Sends Pay Transparency Regulations to OMB for Final Approval
This week OFCCP sent its final regulations implementing Executive Order 13665 (“Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information”), or commonly referred to as the Pay Transparency Executive Order to the Office of Management and Budget for approval.
OFCCP published the proposed rules on September 17, 2014 and the public comment period closed December 16, 2014.
Final…
Protecting Your Proactive Pay Analyses
The Obama Administration has made it clear that closing the persistent gender “wage gap” is one of its top EEO priorities. As such, OFCCP has ramped up its enforcement of equal pay laws, including rewriting its compensation investigation guidelines with Agency Directive 307, revamping its Division of Statistical Analyses, and reinventing the pay…
U.S. Supreme Court to Again Review Higher Education Affirmative Action Case
In a week full of front-page news, the United States Supreme Court has agreed to again review the appropriateness of the University of Texas at Austin’s race-based admissions process in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin.
The Supreme Court first reviewed the school’s consideration of race as a component of…
EEOC Issues Updated Pregnancy Discrimination Guidance
Responding to the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Young v. UPS, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued revised Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues. In its press release announcing the updated guidance, the Agency explained the update to its previously released guidance were limited in scope and…
Complimentary JL Webinar Discussing the New “Blacklisting” Executive Order Proposed Guidance and Regulations
As part of our continued efforts to analyze and disseminate information about the recently published proposed guidance implementing Executive Order 13673, JL will be hosting a complimentary webinar Tuesday, June 30, 2015 from 2:00 – 3:00 Eastern, entitled “Understanding the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces (“Blacklisting”) Executive Order – Ten Steps Contractors Should Take…
OFCCP’s Section 503 Regulations Withstand Challenge
The United States Supreme Court has declined to accept Associated Builders & Contractor’s request to review the legality of OFCCP’s recently enacted regulations for individuals with disability. This rejection signals the end of ABC’s year and a half long challenge of the Agency’s Section 503 regulations.
While this may be the final chapter for…
Save the Date: 2015 ILG National Conference in New York City, July 28-31, 2015
With the official start of summer roughly a week away, it’s not too early to start planning for the upcoming ILG National Conference. This year, the 33rd Annual Conference will be held in New York City from July 28-31, 2015 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square.
With the theme “Onward and Upward: Building the…
Complimentary Webinar: What to do When OFCCP Conciliation Efforts Fail
While we all hope that our OFCCP compliance reviews will end with a Notice of Closure with no violations, many employers are faced with a Notice of Violation citing technical or discrimination-based violations. In these instances, OFCCP will demand the contractor enter into a Conciliation Agreement to remedy the violations. But what happens when negotiations…
U.S. Department of Labor and FAR Council Publish Proposed Guidance and Rules Implementing “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order
As we previously reported, the U.S. Department of Labor has published proposed guidance (“DOL Guidance”) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (“FAR”) Council has published proposed regulations (“FAR Proposed Rule”) implementing President Obama’s “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order (E.O. 13673), often called the “Blacklisting” or “Bad Actors” executive order. …