JPMorgan to pay $9.8M settle pay discrimination suit with OFCCP

On November 2, 2020, JPMorgan Chase entered into a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to resolve the agency's claims the company underpaid its female employees (https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20201112). The settlement brings an end to nearly four years of litigation that began when the OFCCP filed suit in early 2017 in the final days of the Obama administration.

Under the agreement, JPMorgan will pay nearly $800,000 in back wages to the affected employees. In addition, it agreed to conduct an annual pay equity analysis for the next five years and has allocated $9 million for pay adjustments for women and minorities during that period.

Notably, this settlement follows some significant setbacks for the DOL in pay bias litigation, including recent rulings against the agency in Analogic. While JPMorgan maintains it did not engage in any wrongdoing, this agreement allows the company to move on not only from this litigation but also from other pending audits. Specifically, in return for JPMorgan's compliance with the agreement, the OFCCP will close all pending audits of the company. Moreover, according to the agreement, the company will be exempt from further OFCCP audits for at least seven years.

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