Penn State will pay $703,742 in back wages and interest to resolve allegations that it paid some women less than men holding similar positions, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The conciliation agreement comes after an Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs review found that, since at least July 1, 2020, the university allegedly paid 65 women employees less than their male peers. The positions included facilities operations and maintenance, extension education and senior administration jobs, research professors in the College of Engineering and the Applied Research Laboratory and teaching professors in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.
In addition to back pay, the university must also take steps to ensure its compensation practices are free from discrimination.
“The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ensures that federal contractors provide workplaces free from discrimination,” Michele Hodge, acting director of the office, said in a statement. Penn State must make certain its employment practices comply with all federal law, including those that seek to eliminate gender-based barriers to equal employment.”
Penn State described the discrepancies as “unintentional,” but said it takes the issue of pay equity seriously.
According to the university, the “routine audit,” which began in August 2021, covered faculty and staff employment practices at the University Park campus between 2020 and 2021. It included a review of the university’s affirmative action programs, hiring and employment data, interviews with senior leaders and an on-site visit that included interviews with a group of employees and managers.
The investigation ultimately identified 65 women the OFCCP believes were underpaid compared to male counterparts out of 13,811 women working at University Park.
“To uphold its commitment to equal employment opportunity, Penn State engaged fully with OFCCP to bring closure to the audit,” and entered the conciliation agreement, according to a university statement.
“While the number of affected employees was small relative to the overall campus population, the University takes such matters seriously and worked diligently with the government to reach a resolution that fairly compensated the affected women,” Suzanne Adair, Penn State associate vice president for Equal Opportunity and Access, said. “We appreciate the government’s efforts and are pleased that the audit identified the pay anomalies so that corrective action could be taken.”
The university noted that it recently invested $60 million in a compensation modernization initiative “to better align staff salaries with new, market-informed salary grades and equitable pay practices.”
OFCCP reviews hiring and employment practices of federal contractors to ensure they are complying with affirmative action requirements. Penn State, which received more than $178 million in payments from federal contracts with multiple agencies this year, was alleged to have violated an executive order that prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.
“Employers that hold federal contracts must provide all employees with equal employment opportunities and audit their employment processes to make certain no barriers to equal employment exist,” OFCCPrograms Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Samuel B. Maiden said.
