LexisNexis is one of the world’s top research content providers to the legal, business, law enforcement, government, and corporate industries. Their sister company, LexisNexis Risk Solutions has agreed to pay more than $1.2 million to female employees in management due to the U.S. Labor Department’s allegations that they were subject to gender discrimination. This includes 185 affected female employees in the Alpharetta office as well as 26 female employees at the Boca Raton location. The company has also agreed to pay an additional $45,000 in salary adjustments to women at the Boca Raton operation.

The settlement comes three and a half years after the investigations were initiated. Two separate investigations had been conducted by the US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. They found that pay discrepancies had affected 211 women in total. The allegations did not arise from a particular employee complaint, but rather from LexisNexis providing pay transparency information to the DOL. Upon review, the information appeared to violate Executive Order 11246 – which requires pay transparency and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or gender identity by government contractors (which LexisNexis happens to be). In 2015 and 2016, the company had “millions of dollars in federal contracts with the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Transportation and Labor, and the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration”. “It is unlawful for federal contractors to discriminate in pay on the basis of sex,” said Acting OFCCP Director Thomas M. Dowd. “Through this settlement, the affected class members will be compensated for their losses. We are pleased that the contractor worked cooperatively with us and has agreed to review and revise pay policies and procedures as necessary.”

The Department of Labor website FAQ section states that “If a business or organization has a Federal contract, subcontract, or federally–assisted construction contract it may be subject to the requirements of Executive Order 11246. Generally speaking, any business or organization that (1) holds a single federal contract, subcontract, or federally assisted construction contract in excess of $10,000; (2) has federal contracts or subcontracts that have a combined total in excess of $10,000 in any 12–month period; or (3) holds government bills of lading, serves as a depository of federal funds, or is an issuing and paying agent for U.S. savings bonds and notes in any amount will be subject to the requirements of Executive Order 11246.

LexisNexis has agreed to pay the settlement but does not consider it an admission of guilt, as a release from the company clarifies. The full statement reads: “LexisNexis Risk Solutions is committed to ensuring all employees are treated fairly and afforded equal employment opportunities. The findings [by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs] were not based on any individual complaints; rather they were derived from the statistical analysis conducted by the agency. The company disagrees with the OFCCP’s findings and does not believe it violated any federal laws. After three and a half years of cooperation during the agency’s review, we ultimately agreed to the settlement to avoid committing additional time and resources for continued legal proceedings.”

LexisNexis is not the only company accused of pay discrepancies based on gender discrimination in a large scale. Pharmaceutical company Merck is currently facing a class-action lawsuit of more than 400 women alleging that they also faced gender discrimination. The case began in May 2013 with a single plaintiff, Kelli Smith. She filed the case alleging Merck had discriminated against women by denying them proper pay and promotions, by forcing pregnant women to take leave, and by fostering a hostile work environment that encouraged/allowed sexual harassment. Early in 2014, several other women joined the case, leading to a number that is now in the hundreds.

Gender discrimination cases appear to either be on the rise or at the very least be starting to receive the media attention they deserve.

Sources:

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20170112

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-lexisnexis-discrimination-settlement-20170112-story.html

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lexisnexis_risk_solutions_pays_1.2m_to_resolve_pay_bias_allegations

http://fortune.com/2016/07/21/women-suing-merck-sex-discrimination/

https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/statutes/eo11246.htm