Pfizer will pay $2 million as part of a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to resolve pay discrimination allegations, the agency announced Monday.
Per the agreement, OFCCP conducted a compliance review of Pfizer covering the period between 2015 and 2016 and allegedly found that the pharmaceutical company discriminated against 86 women by paying them less than comparable employees who are men.
As a result, OFCCP alleged that Pfizer violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of protected characteristics including race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and national origin.
In an email to HR Dive, Pfizer said that the agency’s audit “involved minor pay discrepancies from over seven years ago among a small group of employees at a single location.”
The company said it would partner with DOL to ensure equitable pay practices but denied that it is revising its compensation system — as DOL stated in its press release — stating that “this is inaccurate and does not reflect the terms that the parties reached.”
“Pfizer is deeply committed to equity for all of its employees,” the company said. “While Pfizer maintains that all pay differences were based on appropriate business factors and were not discriminatory, Pfizer made the decision to resolve this dispute due to the amount of time that has transpired and the need to focus on its core business initiatives.”
The $2 million total payout includes more than $1.2 million in back pay to the affected employees along with more than $737,000 in interest. Pfizer agreed to immediately cease using discriminatory compensation practices and implement training for individuals involved in determining compensation for the affected job titles, among other items.
Monday’s announcement represents one of several pay discrimination enforcement actions taken by OFCCP under the Biden administration. Agency Director Jenny Yang identified pay equity as a top focus for OFCCP in 2021, and in the time since, it has inked conciliation agreements with employers such as Pfizer, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Microsoft-owned LinkedIn.
