Last week, OFCCP Director Craig Leen signaled the end of ongoing litigation with Oracle America by issuing a short statement indicating that the agency will not appeal a recent Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decision. In a lawsuit filed almost four years ago, OFCCP alleged Oracle was not complying with requests relating to uncovering compensation discrimination. In 2019, Oracle filed its own complaint against OFCCP, indicating the agency was “utilizing a process with no statutory foundation whatsoever.” Recently, the ALJ issued a lengthy decision in favor of Oracle.
With this announcement, the agency confirms it does not plan to appeal the decision and Oracle agrees to drop the civil lawsuit it filed against OFCCP. In the press release, Director Leen indicates that “OFCCP no longer evaluates compensation in the manner rejected by the ALJ in this case”, which leads to the question of what framework the agency has adopted to analyze contractor compensation. In addition, OFCCP will “administratively close the pending audits for Oracle establishments started before the OFCCP v. Oracle America case but will continue other existing audits.”
Despite this outcome, OFCCP and EEOC remain focused on compensation analysis and contractors should stay tuned to see how the change in administration impacts enforcement efforts in this area.