The settlement includes $550,000 in back wages and interest to female and Black employees
During a routine OFCCP compliance review, OFCCP alleged that between April 1, 2017, through March 31, 2018, IQVIA, Inc., a multinational healthcare services company, discriminated against female and Black applicants in the hiring process. At IQVIA’s Parsippany, New Jersey, facility, OFCCP found that the company failed to hire qualified female and Black applicants for the Associate Sales Consultant position. OFCCP found statistically significant differences of three or more standard deviations in the hiring rates of female applicants compared to similarly situated qualified male applicants with a shortfall of 12 female hires. Similarly, OFCCP found significantly significant differences in the hiring rates of Black applicants compared to qualified White applicants leading to a shortfall of six Black hires.
IQVIA signed a conciliation agreement (CA) with OFCCP and agreed to pay $443,479.24 in back wages and $106,520.76 in interest to 984 qualified female and Black applicants. The funds will be allocated and distributed among eligible class members. The company will also ensure that its selection process, personnel practices, and hiring policies are free from discrimination and that its internal audit and reporting systems are compliant. IQVIA will provide OFCCP with two annual progress reports.
This is not the first time IQVIA has been cited by OFCCP for alleged compliance violations. In March 2020, IQVIA signed a conciliation agreement to resolve compliance issues identified in their Chesapeake, VA location that occurred from April 1, 2017, through September 30, 2018. Most of the citations were technical violations associated with applicant tracking and hiring recordkeeping, failure to list jobs with the State employment service delivery system, and failure to conduct analyses of applicants and hires. To support this conciliation agreement, IQVIA was required to submit one progress report to OFCCP.
Both OFCCP compliance reviews appeared to be happening around the same time in different regions. They both involved hiring practices; however, one conciliation agreement was technical in nature and the other involved a large financial settlement. We can only assume that this most recent settlement took two additional years to resolve due to the significant monetary settlement. Another interesting note is that even though the female shortfall was only 12 hires, and the Black shortfall was six, the payout was over $550,000. It does not appear as if IQVIA is required to make job offers to remedy the alleged hiring discrimination.
OFCCP will continue to conduct multi-establishment reviews nationwide with coordination among offices. Therefore, it is crucial that contractors ensure that their employment practices are compliant throughout their organization.
Contractors seeking assistance in evaluating their hiring practices can contact their OutSolve Consultant or OutSolve directly at 888.414.2410 or by email at info@outsolve.com.