Photo of 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.

The Department of Labor has released proposed guidance to assist with implementation of Executive Order 13673 – Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces.  The proposed guidance is expected to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow which will start a 60-day public comment period.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has likewise released proposed regulations implementing

In an update to our post more than a year ago about the National Association of Manufactures’ legal challenge to the posting requirements under Executive Order 13496, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. has rejected NAM’s constitutional challenge to President Barack Obama’s 2010 Executive Order requiring certain federal contractors to post a “Notification

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

In light of this week’s Supreme Court decision in Young v. United Parcel Service addressing the issue of accommodations and pregnancy discrimination, OFCCP has extended the public comment period for the Agency’s Sex Discrimination Regulation Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  The public comment period now closes April 14, 2015.

By extending the comment period by

This week OFCCP hosted Webinars on federal contractor obligations with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity under Executive Order 13672.

During the training OFCCP reiterated the following requirements:

  • Contractors are to use the updated EO Clause including sexual orientation and gender identity if the entire EO Clause is incorporated into covered purchase orders