Washington’s Mounting Interest in the High-Tech Industry’s Diversity Efforts
Jun 21, 2016
Over the last few months, federal policy-makers have engaged in what appears to be a highly-orchestrated campaign aimed directly at clamping down high-tech industry. The two agencies responsible for enforcing federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws have intensified their focus on the technology sector’s diversity, inclusion and affirmative action efforts in recent weeks, while members of Congress have begun demanding change.
In addition, the White House has coordinated two summits where the lack of diversity in the booming tech sector may further escalate federal policy makers’ interest. These recent and upcoming activities, which we have detailed below, appear to be laying the ground work for additional federal action.
- OFCCP – The U.S. Department of Labors Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has been targeting the technology industry. Over the last year, a number of industry stalwarts have experienced far more extensive and burdensome OFCCP evaluations than in the past.
- EEOC – On May 18, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held a public meeting focused on diversity and inclusion in the technology industry. Following the meeting the agency released a report, Diversity in High Tech.
- Congressional Black Caucus Letter – On May 25, 2016, the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez calling for increased diversity in the technology industry and demanding greater scrutiny of industry government contractors employment of African Americans.
- Tri Caucus Resolution – On June 2, 2016, the Tri-Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus and Asia Pacific Caucus, introduced a non-binding resolution declaring Congresss support of efforts to increase diversity and inclusion and to eliminate barriers faced by people of color and other underrepresented groups in the technology sector.
- GAO Study – Although not publicly reported, we are also aware that Congress investigative arm, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), is currently working on a report focusing on technology industry EEO matters.
- United State of Women Summit – On June 14-15, 2016, The White House Council on Women and Girls, the State Department, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Aspen Institute and Civic Nation hosted the United State of Women Summit. The summit has been described as a large-scale effort aimed at rallying together advocates of gender equality to highlight what has been achieved, to identify the challenges that remain, and to chart the course for addressing them. It focuses on a number of topics that are highly relevant to the industry's diversity and inclusion efforts, including equal pay, pay transparency, labor force participation, STEM education, and enhancing investing for female entrepreneurs.
- Prior to summit, the White House reached out to employers with an Equal Pay Pledge. Employers who sign to the pledge agree to conduct an annual company-wide gender pay analysis, review promotion processes and hiring to reduce unconscious bias, and embed equal pay efforts into broader equity. At the start of the summit, 28 companies including the following employers in the high tech industry had signed the pledge: AirBnB, Amazon, Care.com Cisco, Expedia, Glass Door and GoDaddy Salesforce, Slack, Spotify and Pinterest.
- The 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) – On June 22-24, President Obama will host the 7th Annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) at Stanford University. In announcing the location of the 2016 Summit, President Obama renewed his previous call to action for inclusive entrepreneurship: I'm calling on the private sector, foundations, investors, and universities to help us increase opportunities for all entrepreneurs, no matter who they are, where they re from, or what they look like.
FortneyScott will continue to track this issue. For more information, please contact Leslie Silverman, or the FortneyScott attorney with whom you work.
The EEOC’s final Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) regulations were republished in the Federal Register on April 19 and will become effective on June 18th. The final regulations and guidance clarified and, in some cases, expanded on employers’ accommodation obligations for pregnancy related conditions from what the EEOC originally included in the proposed regulations.
On March 29, 2024, the Office of Management and Budget published revisions to federal data that covered entities must collect on race and ethnicity.
On January 29, 2024, on the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Biden Administration announced a proposed regulation to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from using job applicant’s prior salary history when setting pay and to require federal contractors to disclose the expected salary range in job postings. The proposal was published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2024 and comments were due on April 1, 2024.
OFCCP announced on March 25, 2025 that its contractor portal will open for federal contractor certification on April 1, 2024 and close on July 1, 2024.
Join our skilled presenters as they discuss the actions of the DOL (Wage & Hour; OFCCP; OSHA), the NLRB, and recent Court arguments confronting the Chevron doctrine, with a focus on the impact on the workplace.
On January 30, 2024, the Biden Administration published a proposed regulation to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from using job applicant’s prior salary history when setting pay and to require federal contractors to disclose the expected salary range in job postings.
The EEOC’s final Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) regulations were republished in the Federal Register on April 19 and will become effective on June 18th. The final regulations and guidance clarified and, in some cases, expanded on employers’ accommodation obligations for pregnancy related conditions from what the EEOC originally included in the proposed regulations.
On March 29, 2024, the Office of Management and Budget published revisions to federal data that covered entities must collect on race and ethnicity.
On January 29, 2024, on the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Biden Administration announced a proposed regulation to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from using job applicant’s prior salary history when setting pay and to require federal contractors to disclose the expected salary range in job postings. The proposal was published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2024 and comments were due on April 1, 2024.
OFCCP announced on March 25, 2025 that its contractor portal will open for federal contractor certification on April 1, 2024 and close on July 1, 2024.
Join our skilled presenters as they discuss the actions of the DOL (Wage & Hour; OFCCP; OSHA), the NLRB, and recent Court arguments confronting the Chevron doctrine, with a focus on the impact on the workplace.
On January 30, 2024, the Biden Administration published a proposed regulation to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from using job applicant’s prior salary history when setting pay and to require federal contractors to disclose the expected salary range in job postings.
On January 9, 2024, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Administration (“W&H”) issued its long-awaited final regulation, “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.”
FortneyScott is pleased to announce that its co-founder Jacqueline Scott became President of the global bar organization, Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA). As President of the UIA, Jacqueline Scott has responsibility for overseeing and leading the UIA’s attorney members in 110 countries. UIA fosters professional development and the exchange of information and ideas internationally, promotes the rule of law, defends the independence and freedom of lawyers worldwide, and emphasizes friendship, collegiality and networking among members. Additional information on Ms. Scott and her new UIA responsibilities is available here .
For the first time as President of the Union Internationale des Avocats ("UIA"), FortneyScott co-founder Jacqueline Scott attended the 67th UIA Congress in Italy late last month. The UIA is a global, multicultural organization that brings together the legal profession and whose members represent 110 countries. Ms. Scott provided her first Presidential Speech for the closing of the Congress, "Defense of the Defense" . You can view the video or read the transcript is also available.
FortneyScott and DCI Consulting Group Launch DEI Risk Assessment DEI program evaluation offers privileged critical information to mitigate risk Washington, D.C.: Fortney & Scott, LLC (FortneyScott), a leading Washington, DC law firm representing and advising a broad range of employers, has partnered with DCI Consulting Group, Inc. (DCI), a Washington, D.C.-based human resources data analytics and consulting firm, to offer a comprehensive, multi-disciplined DEI Risk Assessment. Employers and their C-Suites and Boards of Directors are facing growing challenges to their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. In response, employers are turning to Fortney Scott and DCI as outside experts to assess their legal compliance and provide advice as to best practices. As a result, we have developed a proactive, comprehensive, and attorney-client privileged DEI Risk Assessment. This DEI Risk Assessment is a crucial first step to identifying and mitigating potential legal exposure, and includes: 1. Self-Evaluation of DEI Programs & Commitments 2. Listening Sessions with Executives & DEI Leaders 3. Legal Review & Risk Assessment of Policies, Procedures and Practices 4. Scorecard & Best Practice Recommendations “Following the recent rulings by the Supreme Court in UNC and Harvard, it is clear that the legal risks for corporate DEI programs have substantially increased.” said FortneyScott Co-Founder David S. Fortney. “The critical step for employers now is to conduct an attorney-privileged assessment of their DEI programs -- that includes necessary workforce analyses and benchmarking based on best practices -- to determine how their DEI programs should be implemented going forward.” About FortneyScott FortneyScott is a Washington, DC-based law firm counseling and advising clients on the full spectrum of DEI and workplace-related matters. The firm offers clients unparalleled experience and expertise by its attorneys, who formerly held senior positions at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and other government agencies, in corporate and Congressional legal staffs, in major law firms, and who served as a judge on an international tribunal. About DCI DCI Consulting Group is a human resources risk management consulting firm strategically headquartered in Washington, D.C. Members of DCI’s staff are recognized experts in a variety of spaces, including systemic compensation discrimination analyses, affirmative action plan development and implementation, pay equity analyses, DEIA metrics, employee selection and test validation, and OFCCP audit and litigation support. DCI also offers proprietary software and related support to clients. FortneyScott Media Contact: DCI Media Contact: info@fortneyscott.com news@dciconsult.com 202-689-1200 14-448-7355
