The
U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs has announced that The Wackenhut Corp., doing business as G4S
Wackenhut, has entered into a consent decree to settle findings of
hiring discrimination at its Aurora, Colo., facility. The consent
decree settles OFCCP's allegations that Wackenhut engaged in hiring
discrimination against 446 rejected African-American applicants for the
position of traditional security officer for a two-year period.
Wackenhut is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
"The
department is committed to ensuring that federal contractors and
subcontractors hire, promote and compensate their employees fairly,
without respect to their race, gender, ethnicity, disability, religion
or veteran status," said Patricia A. Shiu, director of OFCCP, who is
based in Washington, D.C. "This settlement of $290,000 in back pay on
behalf of 446 African-Americans should put all federal contractors on
notice that the Labor Department is serious about eliminating systemic
discrimination."
OFCCP investigators found that the company
engaged in hiring discrimination against African-Americans from Jan. 1,
2002, through Dec. 31, 2003. Under the terms of the consent decree and
order, filed with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of
Administrative Law Judges, Wackenhut will pay a total of $290,000 in
back pay and interest to the 446 rejected African-American applicants
and will hire 41 of the applicants into traditional security officer
positions. The company also agreed to undertake extensive
self-monitoring measures to ensure that all hiring practices fully
comply with the law and will immediately correct any discriminatory
practice. In addition, Wackenhut will ensure compliance with Executive
Order 11246 recordkeeping requirements.
"We strongly
encourage other employers to take proactive steps to come into
compliance with the law to prevent workplace discrimination," said
Melissa Speer, OFCCP acting director of OFCCP's Southwest and Rocky
Mountain Regions, who is located in Dallas.
OFCCP, an agency
of the U.S. Department of Labor, enforces Executive Order 11246,
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era
Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 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 veteran status.