A recent Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) directive focuses on pay equity audits and indicates that the agency will contest attorney-client privilege over self-audits more regularly.
"The directive signals that pay equity compliance is a definite priority of the agency," said Roselle Rogers, SHRM-SCP, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at Circa in Milwaukee.
"The agency will now start requesting these self-audits more routinely as a matter of policy and will contest privilege more often," said Craig Leen, an attorney with K&L Gates in Washington, D.C., and a former director of the OFCCP. He said this "will likely cause more disputes regarding privilege and could lead to longer audits."
Pay Equity Audit Not Required
Although the term "pay equity audit" was used by the OFCCP's directive, the agency did not impose a new requirement to conduct pay equity audits, noted Lynn Clements, Esq., director of audit and HR Services with Berkshire in Columbia, Md.
Under Executive Order 11246, supply and service contractors must perform an in-depth analysis of their total employment practices to determine whether and where impediments to equal employment opportunity exist, she explained. Since the early 2000s, this includes a review of compensation systems to determine if there are gender-, race- or ethnicity-based disparities.
"The agency's new directive refers to this requirement as a pay equity audit, but the agency's use of that term is an...
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