International development company Chemonics International Inc. agrees to pay $482K to African-American applicants in hiring discrimination case

WASHINGTON – International development company and federal contractor Chemonics International Inc. has agreed to pay $482,243 in back wages, interest and benefits to 124 African-American applicants. The agreement settles U.S. Department of Labor findings that the company discriminated on the basis of race in hiring for its professional entry-level program.

The company has entered into a conciliation agreement with the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to resolve this and several other identified violations of Executive Order 11246, including its failure to maintain required records and conduct internal audits.

“Winning federal contracts, paid for with U.S. taxpayer dollars, is a privilege, not a right. With that privilege comes the obligation to practice equal employment opportunity towards all demographic groups of workers in this country,” said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. “I am pleased Chemonics has agreed to take the steps needed to correct the problems we uncovered in its hiring process.”

During a scheduled compliance review, OFCCP investigators discovered that Chemonics utilized a hiring process that denied equal employment opportunity to qualified African-American applicants for professional positions that support the company’s international economic development projects. Of the 124 African Americans who applied to the company’s program for entry-level professionals during the review period, not a single one was hired.

In addition to paying the monetary settlement, the company, while denying liability, will hire eight of the applicants who were denied jobs, and has agreed to implement an auditing system to monitor all personnel activity and to preserve employment records required by law.

Chemonics International contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development to support economic development projects around the globe in areas such as education, health care, and agriculture.

In addition to Executive Order 11246, OFCCP enforces Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. These laws, as amended, make it illegal for contractors and subcontractors doing business with the federal government to discriminate in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. In addition, contractors and subcontractors are prohibited from discriminating against applicants or employees because they have inquired about, discussed or disclosed their compensation or that of others, subject to certain limitations. For more information, please call OFCCP’s toll-free helpline at 800-397-6251 or visit http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/.

OFCCP recently launched the Class Member Locator. The purpose of the CML is to identify applicants and/or workers who have been impacted by OFCCP’s compliance evaluations and complaint investigations and who may be entitled to a portion of monetary relief and/or consideration for job placement under an OFCCP conciliation agreement.  If you think you may be a class member who applied for an Associate A position with Chemonics International Inc. between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011, please visit our website at: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/CML/index.htm , where you can also find information about other recent OFCCP settlements.