A new lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) demonstrates how dogged the government can be in trying to obtain and review employers’ compensation data. The lawsuit, filed against Google with the DOL’s Office of Administrative Law Judges, alleges that Google failed to comply with its obligations to provide compensation data to the government as part of an Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) government contractor compliance audit.

The OFCCP is responsible for enforcing certain laws and Executive Orders that apply to government contractors, including Executive Order 11246, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974. To carry out its mandate, including review of whether employers have widespread pay differences based on age or sex, the OFCCP selects employers for standard compliance reviews or audits. The audits typically begin with a scheduling letter that seeks, among other employment data, compensation information about employees by race and sex. In the Google case, the OFCCP requested information about employees’ compensation, including their wage histories, changes to compensation, and the employees’ names and contact information. READ MORE