The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced a conciliation agreement with an aerospace employer, in resolution of employment law violations.

The DOL's Office of Compliance found evidence of gender discrimination during its routine compliance review of the employer, a government contractor. Specifically, the review alleged the employer's hiring practices discriminated against female applicants, a violation of Executive Order #11246 with regard to federal contracts.

The agreement involves a $443,000 payment to the 116 affected females, and the employer's commitment to provide 14 job opportunities to eligible female applicants. The employer will also assess its employee selection practices and conduct training on anti-discriminatory recruitment and hiring. "GE Aerospace Resolves Alleged Gender-Based Hiring Discrimination, Pays $443K In Back Wages To Affected Job Applicants After Compliance Review" www.dol.gov (Feb. 09, 2024).

Commentary

Last August, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule, "Pre-enforcement Notice and Conciliation Procedures". The purpose of the rule is to have a "streamlined, efficient, and flexible process" so that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance can best use its resources to remove barriers to equal employment opportunity. The rule provides more flexibility in the DOL's "pre-enforcement and conciliation procedures, promotes efficiency in resolving cases, and promotes greater consistency with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." 

To avoid EEO violations in the hiring process, periodically audit hiring and promotion decisions, looking for potential areas of discrimination. If one particular gender is significantly more represented in hires and promotions, it is a best practice to further analyze applicants to make sure personal bias was not a factor in ruling out a qualified candidate.

In addition, regularly train managers and supervisors to recognize personal biases, and give them strategies to put those biases aside when making employment decisions.