Labor Dept. to Relax Obama Pay Bias Policy, Hand Reins to Businesses

The Trump administration plans to ease the way it reviews federal contractors for pay discrimination by letting businesses help shape those investigations, two sources with knowledge of the plans told Bloomberg Law.

The Labor Department will rescind an Obama-era policy as soon as April 20, instructing investigators to analyze pay rates among groups of workers at a particular business based on job categories set by the companies. The DOL currently audits federal contractors for salary bias by determining for itself whether certain workers should be considered to be doing the same job.

The change could have significant consequences for companies—and ...