Pay Equity Archives - Biddle Consulting Group News

Ask the Expert: PAGs vs. SSEGs

November 8, 2018 By Dan Kuang, Ph.D.

Question: Is there a difference/similarity between Pay Analysis Groups (PAGs) and the Similarly Situated Employee Groups (SSEGs)?

Answer: Yes. There’s actually a big difference between Pay Analysis Group (PAG) and Similarly Situated Employee Groups (SSEGs).

SSEG: Everyone in a particular SSEG are performing duties and tasks that are similar and for that reason, it is appropriate to assume that everyone in an SSEG should be paid the same after controlling for relevant explanatory factors (e.g., tenure, performance, education, etc.).
PAG: A PAG is generally comprised of two or more SSEGs. PAG analyses require the analyst to control for qualitative SSEG differences (e.g., job title, pay grade, job function).
Why do we need PAGs if there are SSEGs? The simple answer is sample size. For example, it is possible to analyze 3-SSEGs that, by themselves, are too small to be analyzed with regression methods. By aggregating the 3-SSEGs together and controlling for important qualitative SSEG differences (e.g., job title), it is possible to evaluate the 3-SSEGs for pay disparity.

Answered by: Dan Kuang, Ph.D.; Vice President – Legal and Audit Support Services at Biddle Consulting Group

Budget Update: Proposed Cuts for the OFCCP in 2018

May 23, 2017 By Phil Akroyd

On May 23, 2017, the Department of Labor released its budget for 2018 Salaries and Expenses for the OFCCP. The amount requested totals $88,000,000, which is a decrease of $17,275,000 from 2017’s total of $105,275,000 and includes funds to employ 440 full-time employees (a decrease of 131 FTEs from 571).

The main headline is that the budget proposes merging the OFCCP and EEOC. The funds will enable the OFCCP to focus on the following priorities:

Work collaboratively with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to develop and implement a plan to merge the OFCCP into the EEOC by the end of FY 2018.
Continue its focus on combating pay discrimination through intensive contractor compliance assistance aimed at educating contractors about their contractual obligations, supporting their voluntary compliance with those obligations, and conducting high quality compliance evaluations.
Continue its focus on larger federal and federally-assisted construction projects that have the potential to employ large numbers of diverse workers.

The budget document also cited a focus on pay disparity, stating that “OFCCP anticipates that about 35 percent of its discrimination conciliation agreements will address systemic pay discrimination violations.”

Also, the proposed changes include the establishment of two Skilled Regional Centers, likely located in the Pacific (San Francisco) and Northeast (New York). These Centers would have “highly skilled and specialized compliance officers capable of handling various large, complex compliance evaluations in specific industries, such as financial services or information technology. Compliance evaluations conducted by highly skilled compliance officers greatly increase case evaluation quality and timeliness as well as the more efficient use of limited resources. It also reduces the need for a network of field area and district office (expertise).”

Fostering Pay Transparency In Your Organization

February 23, 2017 By John Piatt

In case you missed it, as a Federal Contractor, you and your company are obligated to foster pay transparency by letting your employees know their rights under the Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision. At a minimum you are required to include the provision in employee manuals and handbooks as well as post with other employee rights information. The following is copied directly from the Department of Labor’s website and provides guidance to your obligations.

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision

Every employer covered by Executive Order 11246, as amended, is required to post the Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision and include it in employee manuals and handbooks. The provision provides applicants and employees notice that the employer will not discriminate against them for inquiring about, discussing or disclosing their pay or, in certain circumstances, the pay of their co-workers.

Because OFCCP believes that uniform use of the nondiscrimination provision is necessary to ensure consistency and clarity in the information provided to applicants and employees, contractors must, at a minimum, use the language provided in the nondiscrimination provision provided below to satisfy both dissemination requirements. Of course, nothing limits a contractor from providing additional information to their employees about their rights and obligations.

Posting Requirement

The posting requirement may be accomplished by posting the provision electronically or by posting a copy of the provision in conspicuous places available for employees and applicants. In order to facilitate the implementation of this requirement, OFCCP has created two versions of the nondiscrimination provision.

The first version is formatted to be posted electronically or printed and posted on the employer’s premises. It includes the OFCCP logo and contact information.

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision (December 2016 formatted version)

The second version includes the required, prescribed language only without formatting. At a minimum, contractors must use this prescribed language.

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision (December 2016 unformatted version)

Employee Manuals and Handbooks

In addition to the posting requirement, employers covered by Executive Order 11246 must incorporate the nondiscrimination provision into their existing manuals or handbooks. Again, employers must, at a minimum, use the unformatted version.

Please note that this page provides general information. It is not intended to substitute for the actual law and regulations regarding the program described herein.

Note from Biddle: Ensuring pay equity is a social and legal concern. If you have potential concerns about pay equity in your organization or would like to know more about conducting a pay equity study, please feel free to give our experts a call or join us at the BCGi Summit where we will be diving into the intricacies of compensation (pay equity) analysis.