Higher Enforcement Activity Expected After DOL-EEOC Partnership Agreement
The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL's) Wage and Hour Division and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will be working more closely together to enforce workplace laws across the country. The two agencies signed a memorandum of understanding that took effect Sept. 13.
The partnership formalizes and increases coordination between the two agencies through information sharing, joint investigations, training and outreach. The agencies intend to share information from complaint referrals, investigative files and company demographic reports to the extent permitted under the law.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the PWFA, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
The DOL's Wage and Hour Division enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, record-keeping, tip retention, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as well as the PUMP Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The DOL enforces and audits employers regarding their compliance with Temporary Seasonal Visas (H-2A and H-2B visas), H-1B visas, PERM labor certification cases, and prevailing wage determinations, among others. These DOL audits have traditionally sought to confirm that:
Employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.
Unlawful compensation practices, such as violations of minimum wage, overtime pay or wage discrimination laws.
Working and living conditions of employees.
Denial of required break times or places for nursing mothers to express milk.
Unlawful retention of employees' tips.
Denial of family and medical leave.
Suspected misclassification of employees as independent contractors.
Unlawful retaliation against workers who assert their workplace rights.
In conducting these audits, the DOL is required to review the employer’s payroll and private records. Under this new MOU, if the DOL finds evidence of suspected discrimination in pay or terms and conditions of employment, the DOL can pass that information to the EEOC more easily than before.
It is more important than ever for employers to self-audit their pay practices to ensure they are in compliance with all immigration and pay equity regulations. Many states have passed robust pay equity laws in the past few years that grant employees the right to equal pay for substantially similar work. Additionally, nationality and citizenship status are protected characteristics in many states and under federal law.