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News Equal Opportunity OFCCP Internet Applicant Rule Advances; James Says 'Some Change' in Final Document The Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has completed a final rule amending its recordkeeping requirements for federal contractors with regard to Internet-based job applications, OFCCP Director Charles James told BNA July 6. James declined to provide a copy of the document, which OFCCP sent to the Office of Management and Budget July 5 for up to 90 days of review, prior to publication in final form in the Federal Register. The final rule "responds to some public comments" on a rule proposed last March, he said, but "is essentially the same document." OFCCP, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, and the Office of Personnel Management issued proposed guidance on the Internet application question in early March 2004, and later that month OFCCP proposed regulations explaining how the agency would carry out its specific enforcement responsibilities (58 DLR A-5, 3/26/04). Discussions are continuing over the joint guidance, James said, but OFCCP determined that it was important to move forward with its own regulations "to help federal contractors with meeting their obligations." OFCCP requires federal contractors to obtain--where possible--gender, race, and ethnicity data on applicants and employees. The proposed rule would add to OFCCP's recordkeeping requirements a definition of "Internet applicant" and require contractors to collect gender, race, and ethnicity information from such individuals. According to the proposed OFCCP rule, for an individual to be considered an "Internet applicant," four criteria must be met: the individual must have submitted an expression of interest in employment through the Internet or related technologies; the employer must have considered the job seeker for employment in a particular open position; the job seeker's expression of interest must have indicated that he or she possesses the advertised, basic qualifications for the position; and the job seeker did not subsequently indicate no longer having an interest in employment in the position. The proposed rule further specifies that "advertised, basic qualifications" must not involve comparing the qualifications of one person to another, must be job-related, and must be objective. "A third party, unfamiliar with the employer's decision process, would be able to evaluate whether the job seeker possesses the qualifications without more information about the employer's judgment," the proposal said. Contractors would be required to retain all records of submissions of interest through the Internet or other electronic means. OFCCP would require such records to evaluate whether contractors have complied with the definition of "Internet applicant," according to the proposed rule. While James declined to comment on any changes incorporated in the final regulation, he said the agency responded to the "concerns" expressed in some of the 46 comments filed with the agency--the bulk of which came from federal contractors. By Nancy Montwieler --------------------------------------- Dr Pepper Bottler Agrees to Pay $228,000 To Settle Discrimination Claims in Texas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOUSTON--The Dr Pepper Bottling Company of Texas will pay $228,000 in back pay and interest to 567 rejected minority and female job applicants to settle allegations that it discriminated in hiring practices for laborer and supermarket merchandiser positions, the Department of Labor announced June 1. Under the settlement agreement reached with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the bottling company has hired 18 minority males and has agreed to employ 12 of the rejected female applicants--six as merchandisers and six as laborers. OFCCP discovered the violations while monitoring the company's progress and compliance with a previous conciliation agreement. The office found significant disparities in the selection rates for minorities and women and required appropriate records for review. After reviewing the company's personnel records, OFCCP found that the company failed to uniformly apply selection criteria to applicants without regard to race and gender and had denied employment opportunities to minorities and females who were equally or better qualified than the non-minorities and men hired, according to the Department of Labor. "Federal contractors are required by law to ensure that equal access to good jobs is provided for all workers," Dallas OFCCP Regional Director Fred Azua Jr. said in a statement. Dr Pepper Bottling Company of Texas, based in Irving, has a federal contract to provide soft drink products to the Irving Army and Air Force Exchange.