Oracle, OFCCP settle long-lasting pay discrimination litigation

On December 3, 2020, Oracle and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) settled protracted pay discrimination litigation, which had been filed in January 2017.

After the OFCCP lost the case before a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) administrative law judge (ALJ) in September, the parties were able to reach a settlement in which:

• The DOL won’t appeal the ALJ’s decision to its Arbitration Review Board; and
• Oracle will drop its civil lawsuit against the agency’s administrative trial system.

OFCCP Director Craig Leen issued a statement on the agency’s reason for settling the case, stating in part: “The Solicitor of Labor and I have decided not to pursue the case further because we believe the likelihood of prevailing on appeal is low and because [the] OFCCP no longer evaluates compensation in the manner rejected by the ALJ in this case.”

OFCCP issues final religious freedom regulations

On December 7, the OFCCP issued its final religious freedom regulations, Implementing Legal Requirements Regarding the Equal Opportunity Clause’s Religious Exemption. The final regulations, which become effective on January 8, 2021, received more than 100,000 letters of comment and are already under siege from the incoming administration and congressional Democrats as “an act of cruelty that cynically twists bedrock American civil rights laws.”