On August 12, 2015, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced a $234,895 settlement with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, which maintains the Savannah River site, a nuclear reservation built in the 1950s. It is the only source for new tritium gas for the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and the corporate laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy’s environmental management work, which includes nuclear material disposition, waste management and environmental cleanup. Since 2009, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has received almost $4 billion in federal contracts. The news release can be found at: https://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ofccp/OFCCP20151152.htm.
Following a compliance review of the facility, the OFCCP alleged that the management company at the Savannah River nuclear site paid 57 female employees in engineering, technical, and administrative positions less than their male counterparts, and paid 15 African Americans working in certain operation specialist positions less than their white counterparts. The OFCCP alleges to have found statistically significant pay differences, even after taking into account legitimate factors affecting compensation. Savannah River denied liability; however, they signed a conciliation agreement to resolve the allegations.
The conciliation agreement includes a payment of $234,895 in back pay, along with required evaluations by Savannah River of whether promotion decisions, performance evaluation ratings, procedures for assigning work, training opportunities, leave policies, assigning applicants to jobs, and limiting job transfers have a negative effect on the compensation of women and African Americans. During the term of the conciliation agreement, Savannah River also agreed to conduct annual compensation analyses and correct any systematic race- or gender-based pay disparities shown.
Please contact us by calling (732) 446-2529 or sending us an e-mail at glennbarlett@gbcs.net if you are interested in discussing the OFCCP’s settlement with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.