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ESA News Release: [09/23/2004]
Contact Name: Dolline
Hatchett
Phone Number: (202) 693-4651
Wachovia Corporation Agrees to Pay $5.5 Million to Women
for Compensation Discrimination
WASHINGTON—The U.S.
Department of Labor announced today that Wachovia Corporation, headquartered in
Charlotte, N.C., has agreed to settle findings of compensation discrimination
against 2,021 current and former female employees. The agreement settles the
department’s allegations that Wachovia engaged in compensation
discrimination against female employees for six years.
“This Administration is determined to ensure that women who work
for federal contractors are fully and fairly compensated,” said Secretary
of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “This settlement of $5.5 million on behalf of
more than 2,000 women should put all federal contractors on notice that the
Labor Department is serious about eliminating systemic discrimination against
women.”
In a corporate management review of the headquarters of federal
contractor First Union National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina,
investigators from the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP) found that the company engaged in compensation
discrimination against females. First Union National Bank subsequently merged
with Wachovia Corporation.
The Wachovia case, filed in August 2001, is the first class compensation
case filed by the department in a quarter-century. OFCCP entered a $5.6 million
settlement with Coca-Cola Company in 2002 also involving allegations of
systemic compensation discrimination.
Under the terms of the Consent Findings and Order approved by
Administrative Law Judge Linda S. Chapman, Wachovia will pay 2,021 current and
former female employees $5,500,000 in back pay and interest. The back pay
amount is the fifth largest settlement ever under Executive Order (EO) 11246,
which prohibits discriminatory employment policies for federal contractors.
Large settlements in other years include Harris Bank, $14 million; Uniroyal,
$10 million; Honeywell, $6.5 million; and Boeing, $4.5 million.
The company has also agreed to undertake extensive self-monitoring
measures to ensure lawful compensation practices for three years and will
correct any statistically significant disparities which are found to be adverse
to women employees. In addition, Wachovia will ensure compliance with EO 11246
recordkeeping requirements.
OFCCP, an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment
Standards Administration, enforces Executive Order 11246 and other laws that
prohibit employment discrimination by federal contractors. The agency monitors
federal contractors to ensure that they provide equal employment opportunities
without regard to race, gender, color, religion, national origin, disability or
veterans’ status.
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