Aerospace Manufacturer To Pay Women More Than $250K In Backpay Settlement

Cedar Rapids, Iowa (WorkersCompensation.com)- Following a compliance review by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Rockwell Collins has agreed to pay $250,000 in back pay to 76 of its female workers to settle alleged pay discrimination at its facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Rockwell Collins is a federal contractor that manufactures and designs avionics, flight controls, and information technology systems.

"Rockwell Collins was scheduled for a compliance review on March 23, 2017, in accordance with the neutral Federal Contractor Selection System,” said a Department of Labor spokesperson contacted by workersCompensation.com about what prompted the investigation into the alleged work discrimination. “During the investigation, OFCCP had discovered that discrimination occurred against female employees in auditor, integrated program specialists, and commodity management job families when compared to their male counterparts that were in similar roles.”

The agreement states that Rockwell Collins denied that it paid employees performing the same work with similar experience and performance differently and denied that the Company violated E.O. 11246. Also, the company states that there has not been any adjudicated finding that the contractor violated any laws. After the investigation, OFCCP and Rockwell Collins entered into this agreement to resolve the matter without resorting to further legal proceedings.

When it comes to the financial remedy the company must comply to the following 

• The total Settlement Fund amount includes $223,221.18 in back pay and $26,778.82 in interest to resolve specific alleged violations set forth above, as follows: 

1. Auditor: $158,329.08, consisting of $142,215.49 in back pay and $16,113.59 in interest.
2.  Commodity Management: $74,579.48, consisting of $65,681.69 in back pay and $8,897.79 in interest.
3. Integrated Program Specialist: $17,091.44, consisting of $15,324.00 in back pay and $1,767.44 in interest.

In a press release Carmen Navarro, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Midwest Regional Director in Chicago, Illinois stated, “This settlement demonstrates the U.S. Department of Labor’s commitment to combating pay discrimination and holding companies with federal contracts accountable if they fail to ensure equal employment opportunity.”

In addition to paying back all wages to workers who were affected, Rockwell Collins has agreed to evaluate employee compensation practices and make any necessary adjustments.  It will also ensure better monitoring practices to its employee compensation and provide Equal Employment Opportunity training to evade any violations in the future. 

Rockwell Collins was acquired by United Technologies in 2018 and now does business as Collins Aerospace.  Throughout this review period the company has held several federal contracts with numerous U.S. government entities, including the Department of the Army, U.S. Coast Guard and Defense Logistics Agency.

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