Time Warner Bias Settlement Pauses DOL Audits for 5 Years (1)

Time Warner Cable became the latest federal contractor to get a five-year break from Labor Department anti-discrimination audits, as part of a $745,000 settlement resolving claims of race- and gender-based hiring bias in North Carolina and South Carolina.

The telecommunications company allegedly discriminated against “African Americans and women applying for sales representative, direct sales trainee and inbound telesales positions,” the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs said in a statement. The alleged bias occurred at Time Warner Cable’s locations in Charlotte and Morrisville, N.C., and West Columbia, S.C.

More than 2,800 individuals allegedly were discriminated against, with the vast majority of the alleged bias occurring at the Morrisville, N.C. location, a DOL spokesperson said.

Time Warner joins companies such as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Dell-EMC, and other federal contractors in settling allegations through an “early resolution conciliation agreement” with the agency.

These types of agreements require a company to proactively turn over hiring, pay, and other employment data from all of its locations, nationwide, in exchange for a five-year pause of random OFCCP audits. The agency regularly audits federal contractors for compliance with federal anti-discrimination and affirmative action laws. The OFCCP initiated the early settlement option, known as the Early Resolution Procedure program, in November 2018.

“This agreement ensures Time Warner Cable takes action to remedy discrimination, and proactively adopts practices that prevent it from happening again at any of its facilities,” Sam Maiden, OFCCP Southeast Regional Director, said the statement.

The conciliation agreement wasn’t immediately available for review. Charter Communications, the parent company of Time Warner Cable, declined to comment on the agreement.