GAO Report Recommends Improvements in Federal Agencies? Oversight of Tech Industry
Dec 01, 2017
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) has issued a report recommending improved oversight of the tech industry by EEOC and OFCCP because of the lack of women and African American workers in the industry. The GAO was asked to review the workforce trends in the technology sector and oversight by the federal enforcement agencies.
The GAO reviewed trends in the gender, racial and
ethnic composition of the technology sector workforce and the oversight by EEOC
and OFCCP of tech companies’ compliance with equal employment and affirmative
action requirements. After analyzing the workforce data from the American
Community Survey for 2005-2015; EEOC EEO-1 Reports for 2007-2015; and OFCCP data
on compliance reviews for FY2011 to 2016; and interviewing agency
officials, researchers and workforce, industry and company representatives, the
GAO found that while the percentage of minority technology workers increased
between 2005-2015, there was no growth for women or African Americans. Hispanic and Asian workers, however, made significant gains. Women, African Americans and Hispanics make
up a smaller percentage in the technology workforce-math, computing and
engineering-as compared to their representation in the general workforce while
Asians have a higher percentage in the technology workforce than in the general
workforce.
The GAO also found that although EEOC and OFCCP have
taken steps to enforce equal employment and affirmative action requirements,
both face limitations. The EEOC is limited by its complaint based focus and the
lack of industry based data. The OFCCP’s regulations and its
establishment-based limit its ability to hold contractors responsible for
compliance.
In response to these concerns, the GAO made 6
recommendations:
- The Chair of the EEOC should develop a timeline to complete planned efforts to clean IMS data for one-year period and add missing industry code data.
- OFCCP should analyze its internal process data from closed evaluations to understand the causes of delays during compliance evaluations and change the process accordingly.
- The OFCCP should require contractors to disaggregate demographic data for the purpose of setting placement goals in AAPs rather than setting single goals for all minorities.
- OFCCP should assess the quality of the methods used by OFCCP to incorporate consideration of disparities by industry into its process for selecting contractor establishments for compliance evaluation.
- OFCCP should evaluate its current approach used for identifying entities for compliance review and determine what modifications are needed to reflect current workplace structures and location or to ensure subcontractors are included.
- The OFCCP should evaluate the Functional Affirmative Action Program to assess its usefulness as an effective alternative to an establishment-based program and determine what improvement could be made to better encourage contractor participation.
Fortney
Scott is reviewing this report in detail and determining what impact these
recommendations will make on the tech industry, EEOC and OFCCP. Please contact
your Fortney Scott attorney for more information.
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.
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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
