Fish in ‘Daily Labor Report’ on Enforcement Changes at DOL

Atlanta Partner Marilyn Fish was quoted April 2 by Bloomberg Law’s Daily Labor Report regarding changes in enforcement of anti-bias laws against government contractors under President Joe Biden. Audits from the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs are now more thorough, investigators’ questions are more detailed, and there’s a renewed emphasis on pay discrimination. The change is seen as coming in large part from new OFCCP Director Jenny Yang, who led the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the Obama administration, where she directed initiatives aimed at closing racial and gender pay gaps. “She’s able to hit the ground running in a way, perhaps, other administrators cannot, because of her breadth of experience,” Fish said. Fish also noted that employers should take proactive steps ahead of potential audits. “You really need to start being very vigilant in documenting starting salaries, and why they are what they are,” she said. “When you’re looking at pay discrepancies, it sometimes goes back to how pay was set when the individual was hired.”