June 18, 1999
Pacesetter, Inc. will pay seven employees more than $83,000
San Francisco — Pacesetter, Inc. of Sylmar, a division of Saint Jude Medical Company, will pay a total of $83,261 to seven employees to settle federal claims that the com-pany's pay policies discriminated against minorities.
A two-year review by the U.S. Department of Labor completed in April revealed that minorities in several job categories, including senior quality technicians, test development engineers and mechanical engineers, were paid less than non-minorities performing similar work. The settlement includes pay raises ranging from 4 to 21 percent and totaling $46,046.
The employees will also receive back pay of $37,215, including interest, to compensate them for salaries below those of equally qualified counterparts over the past two years. The company has agreed to monitor pay setting practices, and take action to prevent future problems from developing.
"Pay equity for women and minorities continues to be a major concern in this country," said Helene Haase, regional director of the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs in San Francisco. The Department of Labor is committed to remedying this problem wherever it occurs."
In addition to the pay issues, the agreement between Pacesetter and the Labor Department details several steps the company will take to bolster it's affirmative action plan and ensure non-discrimination. The company will immediately step up efforts to communicate equal opportunity responsibilities to managers and supervisors, including providing training more than 150 company officials and managers. The company will also maintain better records and establish an ongoing audit and reporting system to track data on job applicants, hires, referrals, promotions and terminations. Pacesetter, a leading manufacturer of pacemaker implants, is a division of Saint Jude Medical Company, based in Minnesota.
The Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs enforces the laws that require federal contractors to take affirmative action to provide an equal employment opportunity workplace. The laws ensure that taxpayer dollars do not perpetuate employment discrimination on the basic of race, gender, national origin, religion, color, disability or status as a covered veteran. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs conducts compliance reviews, complaint investigations, and monitors federal contractors. The agency's laws cover approximately 26 million workers or nearly 22 percent of the total civilian workforce. Since 1994, the Labor Department has recovered more than $150 million in financial settlements for victims of discrimination.
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