The Employment Law Chronicle

The U.S. Department of Labor's, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a press release announcing a $1.5 million settlement against a federal contractor accused of discriminating against women and certain minority men in hiring procedures. OFCCP determined that applicant testing and screening procedures used by a Texas company, Vought Aircraft Industries, disproportionately eliminated African American men, Asian men, and all women from certain beginner jobs in aircraft assembly.

This case serves as a reminder to federal contractors and subcontractors in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and nationwide that it is important to screen your screening tools to eliminate the potential for claims of sex, gender or other forms of employment discrimination.

Posted by Lori J. Searcy | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Employee Testing & Screening , Employment Discrimination , Federal Contractors , Race Discrimination , Sex, Equal Pay & Pregnancy

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Employers in Virginia, the District of Columbia and nationwide need to ensure that testing and selection procedures used to screen job applicants or existing employees for advancement or other opportunities do not have a discriminatory impact on the basis of race, sex, age, disability or other protected category. In recent years, testing and selection criteria have been a prime target of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) enforcement efforts. For example, in November 2006, the Eighth Circuit affirmed a $3 million judgment in EEOC v. Dial Corp resulting from a strength test that appeared to have excluded women from entry-level jobs. In 2007, Ford Motor Company, two of its affiliates, and the UAW entered into a $1.6 million settlement stemming from cognitive apprenticeship tests that appeared to have excluded African Americans. That settlement came on the heels of an $8.5 million settlement in a related case.

In the wake of these multi-million dollar judgments and settlements, the EEOC issued a fact sheet to assist employers in understanding how to avoid employment discrimination claims based on tests and other selection criteria.

Continue reading "EEOC Best Practices: How to Test Employees Without Violating Discrimination Laws" »

Posted by Lori J. Searcy | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Age Discrimination , Company Policies & Handbooks , Disability Discrimination , Employee Testing & Screening , Employment Discrimination , Employment Law 101 , Employment Law Summaries , National Origin & Citizenship , Other Types of Discrimination , Race Discrimination , Religion , Sex, Equal Pay & Pregnancy

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