Wachovia Corporation Agrees to Pay $5.5 Million to Women
for Compensation Discrimination

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that Wachovia Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., has agreed to settle findings of compensation discrimination against 2,021 current and former female employees. The agreement settles the department’s allegations that Wachovia engaged in compensation discrimination against female employees for six years.

“This Administration is determined to ensure that women who work for federal contractors are fully and fairly compensated,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “This settlement of $5.5 million on behalf of more than 2,000 women should put all federal contractors on notice that the Labor Department is serious about eliminating systemic discrimination against women.”

In a corporate management review of the headquarters of federal contractor First Union National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina, investigators from the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) found that the company engaged in compensation discrimination against females. First Union National Bank subsequently merged with Wachovia Corporation.

The Wachovia case, filed in August 2001, is the first class compensation case filed by the department in a quarter-century. OFCCP entered a $5.6 million settlement with Coca-Cola Company in 2002 also involving allegations of systemic compensation discrimination.

Under the terms of the Consent Findings and Order approved by Administrative Law Judge Linda S. Chapman, Wachovia will pay 2,021 current and former female employees $5,500,000 in back pay and interest. The back pay amount is the fifth largest settlement ever under Executive Order (EO) 11246, which prohibits discriminatory employment policies for federal contractors. Large settlements in other years include Harris Bank, $14 million; Uniroyal, $10 million; Honeywell, $6.5 million; and Boeing, $4.5 million.

The company has also agreed to undertake extensive self-monitoring measures to ensure lawful compensation practices for three years and will correct any statistically significant disparities which are found to be adverse to women employees. In addition, Wachovia will ensure compliance with EO 11246 recordkeeping requirements.

OFCCP, an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Standards Administration, enforces Executive Order 11246 and other laws that prohibit employment discrimination by federal contractors. The agency monitors federal contractors to ensure that they provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, gender, color, religion, national origin, disability or veterans’ status.

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.