[blindlaw] EEOC Willfully Violated Pay Law, Arbitrator Rules

[Kathleen Hagen]

Thanks Noel.  I think a lot of the federal agencies do not pay overtime or 
even compensatory time.
Kathy Hagen
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
To: <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 9:25 AM
Subject: [blindlaw] EEOC Willfully Violated Pay Law, Arbitrator Rules


> Thought some on this list might find this article about the EEOC of 
> interest.
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033002901.html?hpid=moreheadlines
>
> EEOC Willfully Violated Pay Law, Arbitrator Rules
>
> By Steve Vogel
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Tuesday, March 31, 2009; A15
>
> The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, responsible for ensuring that 
> the nation's workers are treated fairly, has itself willfully violated the 
> Fair Labor Standards Act on a nationwide basis with its own employees, an 
> arbitrator has ruled.
>
> The agency's practice of offering compensatory time off to its employees 
> rather than overtime pay amounted to "forced volunteering" and was a 
> knowing violation of the law, according to the ruling.
>
> "The case before me, in my view, demonstrates action that went beyond mere 
> negligence," arbitrator Steven M. Wolf wrote in a decision released last 
> week.
>
> The union representing EEOC employees said the decision lends credence to 
> its frequent complaint that the agency is undermanned and its staff is 
> overworked.
>
> "This overtime ruling against the EEOC is vindication that the 'model 
> employer' should not be exploiting the dedication of its hardworking 
> employees," Gabrielle Martin, president of the National Council of EEOC 
> Locals, said in a statement.
>
> Acting EEOC Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru said the agency will review how it 
> handles overtime. "Going forward, the agency will examine its overtime 
> practices and make any necessary changes," he said in a statement. "We 
> want to do overtime right."
>
> "I'm sure our HR people are looking at it very closely," said Justine 
> Lisser, a spokeswoman for the agency.
>
> The agency may be subject to paying back wages to employees based on the 
> ruling. Lisser added that there has been "no decision on whether to 
> appeal" the decision.
>
> The ruling stems from a grievance filed by the union in 2006 and involves 
> overtime disputes dating to 2003. Wolf found that the EEOC's practice of 
> paying compensatory time to any employee who worked extra hours did not 
> satisfy the Fair Labor Standards Act.
>
> "With rare exception in this record, the concept of 'requesting' 
> compensatory time was a fiction," Wolf wrote. Employees were pressured to 
> work extra hours but not offered extra pay, according to the arbitrator.
>
> The union charges that the agency is in "continuing violation" of the law. 
> "The unfortunate reality is that EEOC continues its deplorable overtime 
> violations to this day," said Barbara Hutchison, an attorney for the 
> union.
>
> The dispute comes at a time when the agency is handling what it terms an 
> "unprecedented" level of discrimination charges. The EEOC received more 
> than 95,400 charges of job bias in the private sector in fiscal 2008, up 
> 15.2 percent from 2007 and 26 percent from 2006.
>
> But over the past eight years the EEOC has lost about 25 percent of its 
> staff, including investigators and lawyers who handle the cases.
>
> "The EEOC should stop balancing its resource constraints on the backs of 
> its employees," Martin said.
>
> EEOC and union officials have expressed hope that the agency will fare 
> better under the Obama administration than it did during the eight years 
> of George W. Bush's tenure as president, when hiring was often at a 
> standstill.
>
> Martin said that "it is the nation's workers who will continue to suffer 
> until the agency sees increases to its budget and addresses staffing 
> shortfalls."
>
> View Comments: 
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033002901_Comments.html
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