US DOL Will Extend Equal Pay Report Comment Period

WASHINGTON (Oct. 31, 2014)—The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a 60-day extension of the comment period for its proposed rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to submit an annual Equal Pay Report on employee compensation to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

Under the terms of the proposal, this requirement would apply to companies that file EEO-1 reports, have more than 100 employees, and hold federal contracts or subcontracts worth $50,000 or more for at least 30 days. Through the Equal Pay Report, OFCCP would be able to collect summary employee pay and demographic data using existing government reporting frameworks.

President Obama signed a presidential memorandum on April 8 instructing the secretary of labor to propose a rule to collect summary compensation data from federal contractors and subcontractors. The department published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on Aug. 8, with a deadline to submit comments by Nov. 6. The comment period will be extended through Monday, Jan. 5, 2015.

OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. These three laws require contractors and subcontractors that do business with the federal government to follow the fair and reasonable standard that they not discriminate in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. For more information, visit dol.gov/ofccp.