Labor & Employment Law — 11/16/09

DAL Global Services agrees $100,000 settlement of OFCCP hiring bias findings

The US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has announced that DAL Global Services LLC (DAL) in Denver, Colorado has agreed to settle findings of hiring discrimination against 110 rejected Asian, black, white and female job applicants. The agreement resolves the OFCCP’s allegations that the employer discriminated against applicants for the position of ramp agent at Denver International Airport.

During a compliance evaluation of DAL’s facility in Denver, OFCCP investigators found that the company engaged in hiring discrimination against Asian, black, white and female applicants from January through December 2007. Under terms of a conciliation agreement, DAL will pay a total of $100,000 in back pay and interest to the 110 applicants and will provide 18 ramp agent positions to the class members.

The company also has agreed to undertake extensive self-monitoring measures to ensure that all hiring practices fully comply with the law and to immediately correct any discriminatory practices. In addition, DAL will ensure compliance with Executive Order 11246 recordkeeping requirements.

The OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246 and other laws requiring federal contractors and sub-contractors to implement affirmative action programs and to guarantee equal employment opportunity in the workplace without regard to race, gender, disability, or covered veteran status. DAL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Airlines Inc with headquarters in Atlanta, provides a wide variety of aviation services to the airline, including loading and unloading baggage and cargo, cleaning aircraft cabins, operating and maintaining ground service equipment, and performing ticketing and gate functions. As a condition of receiving federal contracts, DAL is subject to the equal employment opportunity and affirmative action laws enforced by the OFCCP.

“The Labor Department is committed to ensuring that all Americans are hired, promoted and compensated fairly, without respect to their race, gender, ethnicity, disability, religion or veteran status,” said Melissa L. Speer, OFCCP’s acting regional director of its Southwest and Rocky Mountain Region, who is based in Dallas, in a statement. “This settlement of $100,000 should put all federal contractors on notice that the Labor Department is serious about eliminating systemic discrimination.”

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