This settlement brings to a close a decades-long legal battle. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) initially conducted a compliance review in 1993, and notified Bank of America in 1994 that they found discrimination against African American applicants. In 1995, an amended Notice of Violation was issued, along with a proposed Conciliation Agreement. Bank of America rejected this Conciliation Agreement, a Notice to Show Cause was issued, and in 1997 OFCCP filed an administrative complaint.
After merging with Bank of America in 1998, the company challenged OFCCP’s selection of the facility for a compliance review, saying it violated the Fourth Amendment. This challenge failed, and in 2010 the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) issued a decision on liability, which led to a 2013 ALJ recommendation for an award of back pay, interest, and job offers because of discrimination that occurred in both the initial 1993 time period, and from 2002 to 2005. Bank of America filed exceptions to this decision, and in 2016 the Administrative Review Board (ARB) issued a Final Decision and Order that maintained the decision from 1993, and rejected the 2002 to 2005 decision.
In May 2016, Bank of America brought a civil action challenging the ARB’s final decision regarding awards of back pay, interest, and employment offers. This led to the settlement in March 2017 in which Bank of America agreed to pay $1 million in back wages and interest to 1,027 African American applicants for those administrative jobs in 1993. The settlement does not include any extension of employment offers.
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